Silliness and pure swag in the Marvel universe doesn’t come any better than Deadpool and if you haven’t seen the first installment…my only question is WHY?! I absolutely dig this character, Deadpool is unlike anything ever seen in any superhero universe. Watch any of the promo videos for the movie and you’ll see why. Such was the success of the first one that a second installment was immediately confirmed and in the works.

It’s finally here with our favorite hero continued to be portrayed by the oh so cool Ryan Reynolds and the gorgeous Morena Baccarin (who I have a huge crush on) returning as his love interest. Starring alongside them this time around is the villain (of sorts) Cable played by the colossal Josh Brolin who did an amazing job in his portrayal of Thanos in Infinity War.

All set up to be something special, did it live up to the billing and is it another gem from Marvel?

Cast – Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Julian Dennison, Zazie Beetz, T.J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, Jack Kesy & Stefan Kapičić

Directors – David Leitch

Running Time – 2 hours

The Plot

After surviving a near fatal bovine attack, a disfigured cafeteria chef (Wade Wilson) struggles to fulfill his dream of becoming Miami’s hottest bartender, while also learning to cope with his lost sense of taste. Searching to regain his spice for life, as well as a flux capacitor, Wade must battle ninjas, the yakuza, and a pack of sexually aggressive canines, as he journeys around the world to discover the importance of family, friendship, and flavor – finding a new taste for adventure and earning the coveted coffee mug title of World’s Best Lover.

I did mention that this is one silly movie, didn’t I? The above synopsis should further add to that argument. The whole franchise is set up in a unique manner and mixes outright ridiculousness, bags of humor, violence and all out action. The movie is a breath of fresh air and paints the comic book world with a much lighter brush. Even individuals who aren’t necessarily fond of comic books and like movies will find themselves enjoying Deadpool. That’s probably the reason why the movie is currently breaking all kinds of records at the box office managing to even surpass Infinity War in the process.

Despite its humor and light heartedness, the movie does include a few serious moments that will have you pause for a minute (like literally a minute though). The whole premise of it is driven by humour excellently led by the brilliant Reynolds who is tailor-made for this role. Whilst watching, it was also interesting to note the X-Men references throughout the movie and how the character is closely linked to that universe in the overall Marvel Comics Universe (MCU)…would be interesting to see our friend Deadpool in an X-Men movie…probably won’t happen anytime soon but its always nice to dream and stranger things have happened before so why not?

Deadpool 2 picks up where the first installment successfully left off. A brilliant franchise that is unique in its approach and unlike anything ever seen in any comic book-based story. A different but equally successful product from Marvel who continue to produce magic. I’m quite amped for the next movie in the franchise (yes looks like there will be another one…rejoice!) and overall can’t wait to see what Marvel does next with their other upcoming movies. A perfect blend of humour, silliness, ridiculousness and action, Deadpool 2 is everything and more I could have wanted in any good and enjoyable movie. An epic 8.5 out of 10 rating is what it gets from me. Go see it NOW.

Another exclusive and well organised Ster-Kinekor screening allowed me to check the movie out a bit earlier than usual…as always a young shout out goes out to those lovely humans!

So, what about the actual movie itself? Does it live up to the billing and the star power it possesses? Before we go there though, if you haven’t seen it yet or just want to check it out again mainly because it’s awesome, here’s the official trailer:

Cast – Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Salma Hayek, Élodie Yung, Joaquim de Almeida, Kirsty Mitchell & Richard E. Grant

Director – Patrick Hughes

Genre – Action/Adventure

Running Time – 1h 58m

The Plot

The world’s top protection agent is called upon to guard the life of his mortal enemy, one of the world’s most notorious hitmen. The relentless bodyguard and manipulative assassin have been on the opposite end of the bullet for years and are now thrown together for a wild and outrageous 24 hours. During their journey from England to The Hague, they encounter high-speed car chases, outlandish boat escapades, bullets and merciless. These are directed at them by an Eastern European dictator whose main mission is to make sure that the Hitman doesn’t survive to testify against them.

Saying it upfront, I really loved this movie, more so than I thought I would actually. It’s the type of movie that almost anyone can watch. Though an action movie, in it we also find a fantastic amount of humor (lots of it!) and adventure mostly driven by its two equally fantastic leads (Reynolds and Jackson). The plot is also pretty good, not the best but very good – the concept behind it is what will especially lend itself well to many…a hitman who needs a bodyguard?

The Hitman’s Bodyguard is the type of movie I wouldn’t mind watching over and over again, and recommend to just about anyone continuously. That’s the type of effect it had on me. It’s also one of the best movies I’ve watched this year and honestly cannot find any fault with it. We need more movies like it – good plot, flowing nicely throughout, star power merging well together, humor done in the right way and of course great action sequences.

It promised a lot right off the bat and after seeing it I can safely admit that The Hitman’s Bodyguard delivers on what it initially promises. It includes a perfect balance of everything from humor to action sequences delivered by a cast who ooze star power, charm and swag. The plot’s also not too bad with everything flowing from one end to the other with not much fuss or complication. It opens up in cinemas tomorrow, do the right thing and go check it out. Absolutely dug it and that’s why it gets a 4.4 out of 5 rating from me.