Catching up on some of the big summer movies. I didn't have very high expectations for either of these, but I think they were worth my time.
Let's start with "Deadpool 2," which sees superpowered anti-hero Wade Wilson suffer another tragedy that puts him in the role of unlikely protector to an angsty mutant kid named Russell (Julian Dennison), and up against a time travelling mercenary from the future, Cable (Josh Brolin). New characters include the super-lucky Domino (Zazie Beetz), and the evil mutant Juggernaut, while all the various sidekicks and side characters from the first film are back.
Fox upped the production budget and brought in David Leitch from "John Wick" to direct, so the sequel looks more slick and polished than the original, and can afford things like the James Bond-inspired intro sequence set to a Celine Dion power anthem. It's also not afraid of being more graphic, more violent, and more vulgar. Unfortunately, it's not more clever or more well written than the original, and doesn't quite have the same heart. Deadpool was always juvenile and malicious, but his emotional core was genuine. This time around, I felt the balance was off. The jokes are meaner, and the self-reflection is a lot less convincing. There are a lot of missed opportunities with Russell in particular, and Dennison is never given much opportunity to be as fun or as cool as we know he can be. Ditto Josh Brolin, whose Cable is mostly relegated to playing straight man to Deadpool's goofy antics.
Plenty of the humor here does work, though. I love that Karan Soni's Dopinder has morphed into a wannabe hitman, and Brianna Hildebrand's Negasonic Teenage Warhead has found herself an adorable girlfriend. The meta commentary and Deadpool's constant references to other superhero films continue to be a lot of fun, though the novelty value has definitely worn off. There's also less restraint being exercised in pretty much every regard, from the R-rated content to the fancy action sequences to the amount of shameless pandering to the fans. The movie is very watchable and enjoyable, but it has every problem that you'd expect a sequel to have. I'm happy it exists, if only to help Ryan Reynolds exorcise some demons, but won't be revisiting it soon.
Now on to "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," which legitimately surprised me. It doesn't have quite the same sense of spectacle as the first "Jurassic World," and the writing is a mess, but it's fundamentally more adept at being an adventure-thriller, probably because a legitimate horror director, Juan Antonio Bayona, is at the helm this time. Since this is a direct sequel to "Jurassic World," and still has several members of the creative team heavily involved, some of the problems I had with that film have carried over. The leads played by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are still very flimsy. A new kid in the mix named Maisie (Isabella Sermon) and some comic relief characters, nervous IT guy Franklin (Justice Smith), and dino vet Zia (Daniella Pineda), don't help much. At least the new baddie, a corporate shark named Eli Mills (Rafe Spall) is agreeably slimy. There are also several notable actors in smaller supporting parts, including James Cromwell, Geraldine Chaplin, and Toby Jones.
"Fallen Kingdom" covers a lot of the same material as "The Lost World," the first "Jurassic Park" sequel from way back in 1997. However, it's presented in such a way that it gets to have more fun with the concepts. Quite a bit of the action takes place in creepy, haunted-house style environments instead of the wilderness. That's a nice change of pace, and lends some variety to the tone and scale of the action sequences. There's also much more emphasis on the dinosaurs themselves, so we're rooting for them as much as we're rooting for the human leads. All the pieces here are familiar, but they're still very effective at delivering the thrills. The only thing that I think falls flat is whenever Bayona is obliged to try and evoke Spielbergian moments of childlike wonder. Also, I have no idea what the cloning subplot was doing in this movie.
I'm not thrilled that the "Jurassic Park" movie series shows no signs of slowing down, but at least this film signals that they're willing to try different things and push into new directions. The ending in particular has me hopeful that we may see more departures from the established formula. However, the biggest change that has to happen is finding someone who can write actual characters - Pratt and Howard are talented actors who deserve so much better than this. And the audience does too.
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