I must start this by saying yes, I very much enjoyed the first Deadpool film.  A lot.  And I had extremely high hopes for Deadpool 2….but….a good friend managed to spoil the damn thing at least a month before I saw it. So, I went into the film knowing a pretty big part of the plot.

It went farther than just spoiling the experience for me- it completely colored my expectations and reception of the film, which is not something that normally happens.  It was a pretty big plot point, and one that I was very much hoping didn’t turn out to be true. It makes sense NOW, but I was super unhappy going into my screening.

What you really want to know, without spoilers, is if Josh Brolin pulls off Cable.  He does, completely, and I enjoyed his performance as the mutant from the future with the biggest most badass gun. Zazie Beetz is ultimately poorly used, and the reports that there were additional scenes shot so there would be more Domino means that she had even less screen time originally.  She’s delightful as Domino, but I was really hoping for more.  I know, that’s silly in this particular franchise, but a girl can dream. Stefan Kapicic is a treasure, and I adore him as Colossus then, now, forever.

SCORE: 2.8 out of 5, viewed in standard non 3D, will see again with a bigger audience.

Whatever you think you’re going to get out of this film in the way of outlandish cursing and creative violent stunts- don’t worry, those are totally in here in large amounts.  The real problem is pacing. The beats are there, sure, but it takes awhile to get to them.  There are laughs, there are nods to deep comicbook cuts (like the name of the orphanage, guys), and some new characters I wish we would have gotten more time with.

The signature 4th wall breaks are there too, DP talking to the audience, some pretty great musical choices, and the all important new bestest choral theme ever.  You’ll know it when you hear it.

Ryan Reynolds really is the best actor to play our Merc with a Mouth, I’ll never doubt that, I was just hoping for more.  I will say there was more X-Men and X-Force centric stuff in this one, which was really great for me personally, but ultimately made me more anxious for Dark Phoenix.

We’ll have a plot-reveal-spoiler-heavy review for you after this weekend, when Deadpool 2 opens in theaters on May 18th.