Monday, May 21, 2018

Review: DEADPOOL 2

by Patrick Bromley
More merc. More mouth. More meta.

I liked 2016's Deadpool just enough that I'm happy to see it getting a sequel. I thought it did a good job establishing the character of a smart-ass, hyper-violent and unkillable mercenary, creating the tone of the world in which he lives, and distinguished itself from every other contemporary superhero movie by constantly breaking the fourth wall and leaning hard into its R rating. It did all of these things while at the same time barely being a movie, but rather about three action set pieces bookended with lots and lots of flashbacks. When the movie was a surprisingly massive hit, I was happy because I hoped it would embolden studios to takes some risks with their superhero formula (for the most part, they haven't) and because I thought Ryan Reynolds deserved the win after trying for many years to get a Deadpool movie made.

It should come as no surprise that just two years later, we're getting a sequel in the form of Deadpool 2. That it has moved to a big summer release date is a measure of the first film's success and of the studio's confidence in the property -- which, as the film is setting records in its opening weekend, is well-founded. Having established the character and the tone the first time around, screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (along with Ryan Reynolds, who gets his first screenplay credit here) and new director David Leitch have decided to see what happens if they take that character and put him into an actual movie. The results are mixed, but just like with the first film, Deadpool 2 works in the ways that it needs to work.
This time around, our heartbroken hero wants to prove himself and do some actual good, auditioning for the X-Men (still only represented by a cartoonish Colossus and returning Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead) and coming into the path of Russell (Julian Dennison of Hunt for the Wilderpeople), a troubled kid living at a sort of orphanage for mutants where he's being abused. When Deadpool handles things the wrong way and blows his X-Men audition, he decides instead to begin his own super team -- X-Force -- which includes characters like Bedlam (Terry Crews) and, most importantly, Domino (Zazie Beetz), whose mutant power is luck and who steals the entire movie and possibly this summer.

Oh, right, and the kid is being hunted by Cable (Josh Brolin), a mutant traveling back from the future to prevent the deaths of his own family and the scorching of the entire Earth. Apparently, Deadpool and Cable were a well-loved team in the comics years back, to the point that the character's appearance in the sequel was even teased in the original Deadpool. I get that their dynamic could be appealing because the two heroes are so fundamentally different and that relationship is hinted at from time to time in Deadpool 2, but for the most part Cable is on hand just to be an obstacle to run away from or fight against. Brolin is good in the part and I'd be interested in him sticking around in future sequels, but I'm not sure anyone looking for their dream Deadpool/Cable team up is going to walk way from this movie fully satisfied.
Yes, Deadpool 2 is overstuffed. There are too many characters, too many subplots, too many tangents, often too much business happening on screen. I didn't really bother me, because I realize I'm not coming to these Deadpool movies to be told a really good story. I'm there for the irreverence and the attitude, and Deadpool 2 has plenty of that. Fewer than half the jokes land, but enough is thrown at the wall that at even a less than 50% success rate is enough to keep things entertaining. There are some fun surprise cameos and surprise characters, there are funny jokes about the MCU and DCU and Batman v. Superman and Infinity War and a really funny Logan joke that opens the movie, letting you know exactly what you're in for. There's even a great line about John Hillcoat's The Proposition, and what other big-budget superhero movie out there is doing anything like that? The language is filthy, the violence bloody and ridiculous. I can totally understand the snottiness of it all rubbing people the wrong way, but I find that I'm happy to give myself over to the anarchy of it all because at least it feels alive and more than willing to celebrate being what it is.

Plus, there is an emotional core to the film that keeps it from being a bunch of winking at the camera and f-bombs. The romance between Wade and his girlfriend Vaness (Morena Baccarin) gave the original movie a throughline that made us care when it really didn't need to, and it was better for it. Deadpool 2 does maybe my least favorite thing in sequels, and, to be honest, it took me at least half the film to be won back. Eventually, though, it settles into being a movie about creating your own family, a theme to which I'm particularly sensitive, and again gets us to care just enough to go along with too-muchness of it all, to the point that there are moments in the back half that I found genuinely moving. Again, it didn't have to be at all emotional. I suspect the movie would be just as big a hit if it were just obnoxious and violent and profane. It's still all those things, but at least it bothers to make us care a little, too.
Like I said, the movie is a mess. Some of the character motivations are inexcusable in 2018. The CG is fairly terrible, which I could overlook on the last movie because it was done relatively cheaply. The sequel, while being twice the scale, also has twice the budget. That makes it a little harder to overlook some shoddy effects work, including two fully CG-rendered characters that never come close to feeling like actual humans inside the frame. TJ Miller is still in the movie and is never funny once, but his presence stands out as even more of an eyesore post #MeToo in a film that's sex positive and features what I think are the first queer superheroes in a Marvel or DC movie. Not everything that's meant to be shocking or surprising is a shock or a surprise given the movie we paid to see. But goddamn if I didn't enjoy myself in a summer superhero blockbuster that doesn't feel like anything else that is playing or will play for the next few franchise-heavy months. I think what I like about these Deadpool movies is that they actually do believe in ideas like heroism and trying to do something good; they just go about it their own sometimes demented way. A lesser version of the material just shits on everything, including what it means to be a superhero. Deadpool 2 doesn't make fun of being a superhero. It just makes fun of superhero movies. Hollywood being what it is today, I'm ok with that.

42 comments:

  1. I liked Colossus wayyyy better this time around. He seemed ike he belonged in this movie, unlike the first one. I think the jokes were funnier, wittier and less broad this time too. Loved the surprises, the cameos, Cable and Domino. I was genuinely shocked, and screamed out when a certain character met with a certain, landed flying object. Also liked how the villain keeps switching up, maybe thats what makes it messy, but it kept it fresh too.

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  2. I have to disagree about the movie's emotional core, or on the fact that it actually has one. Not a single moment of the movie's sentiment rang true. It is mostly spends a lot of time failing to achieve even a cloying sentimentality while either wasting the audience's time or actively insulting them. The humor is constantly cutting against the emotion and unlike like good meta-referential semi-spoofs (like Edgar Wright's Cornetto movies) it never manages to bridge that divide. Honestly, I found the thing near the beginning so cretinous that I don't think the movie ever had the chance of winning me back. I hated this movie.

    Domino was great, though.

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  3. Thank God we have the self righteous Patrick Bromley to tell us that we shouldn't laugh at TJ Miller in a movie. I guess we aren't supposed to enjoy a movie as much if the internet says someone did something. And I guess no movie is allowed to kill a female character off anymore without being labeled sexist towards women, even if you watched the post credits scene and saw that character come back. Ever since #metoo started Patrick has felt the need to get on his soap box and call out movies for being against women, which if you look hard enough could be said about almost any movie, and I think it's damaging to cinema. Every movie is not sexist and every movie that has an actor that may or may not have done something wrong shouldn't automatically be docked points because of it. You can still like a movie or a performance without liking what the person does in their personal lives. But hey let's stop letting a movie just be a movie and let the shitty real world ruin them for us. Thanks for that message Patrick. Now let all the f heads who suck Patrick's dick attack me.

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    1. GeorgeM - Now show me on this doll where they touched you.

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    2. Let's back off a little, guys. I'm pretty sure this is constitutional hero George Mason. Sir, I loved what you did in pushing for a Bill of Rights and advocating the end of the slave trade. It's pretty shocking that Deadpool would bring out the worst, most obtuse fans. Look at how shocked I am. I'm actually not all that upset about TJ Miller being in the film tho, only because I think they're gonna replace him with Don Cheadle in 3.

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    3. Nonsense, Brian. This is clearly George M. Leader, who served as governor of Pennsylvania from 1955 to 1959. Your Honor, I want to thank you for your service to my home state, including your campaign to reform our mental hospitals (I can see why the issue is so close to your heart) and your permission of nuclear waste dumps into our local rivers (though I wish you'd filtered that water before you drank so much of it!).

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    4. Translation

      Fuck a beat, I'll go A Capella. Fuck a Papa Doc, fuck a clock, fuck a trailer, fuck everybody. Fuck y'all if you doubt me. And fuck this battle, I don't want to win, I'm outtie. Here, tell these people something they don't know about me.

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    5. But in all seriousness, although I really did enjoy your stuff with Wham!, I think your solo career is really where you shined George Michael. I was sad to hear of your passing, but I'm glad you've picked such an important issue to resurrect with. Next time you head to the cinema, let us know where you plan to go-go so I can avoid it completely.

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    6. circlejerks like this are why i stopped coming to this blog. thought, 'i wonder what they thought about deadpool?', but got exactly what i was afraid of instead: a group beatdown on someone who decided that they didn't agree with you. the high road to take would've been ignoring the dissenting opinion, not dogpiling on it like kids on a playground making fun of the smelly kid. you guys stopped actually talking about movies a while ago so you could focus on making each other feel safe and important instead. going anonymous here because i don't owe you the opportunity to make ad hominem attacks instead of reflecting on how thin-skinned you really are. This site's supposed to be about movies, right? But here we are, with a minuscule cult of personality operating instead. PATRICK: STOP EMOTIONALLY RESPONDING TO COMMENTERS WHO ATTACK YOU. it makes you look really, really bad, and only encourages all the people who use the blog hoping to earn some of your attention to rise up in your defense and make the whole operation seem all the more insular and insignificant.

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    7. Thank you anonymous that's exactly what I was trying to point out. Not one of them actually argued against anything I said, they just saw that I was calling Patrick out and decided to make lame jokes about my name. Patrick can't take an ounce of criticism and he's built this cult of people on this site that jump on anyone that says one thing wrong about him. I believed in what I said even if I said it harshly. If you can't handle criticism then don't put your stuff on here for everyone to see. I really like Patrick and respect his writing im just a little frustrated what this place has turned into. Patrick is the cool kid and we are all trying to get his attention. It's ridiculous.

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    8. Act like a child and you'll get treated like a child "anonymous" (pretty sure it's Doug.) If George Mikan (Laker great) had come here to disagree with Patrick in a respectful way (like adults do), he could have gotten a rational, thoughtful response. But instead, he opted to treat this like a YouTube comment section. George's comment, frankly, leads little pathway to open dialogue, and just comes off like a tantrum from someone who uses the phrase "red pill" unironically.

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    9. Anonymous - I'm not going to attack you. As someone who writes about movies every week here, I assure you we talk about them all the time. The commenter that started this stopped engaging about a disagreement with a movie and just started going after my friend personally. I felt like standing up for my friend so I made fun of the fact that commenter basically put a poison pill at the end of their comment to make it seem like anyone who wants to say something to their vitriol is sensitive (which I probably am but it's not the worst thing in the world to be). I don't care if you agree but it's insulting to lecture someone for standing up for themselves or someone else when what they are saying is either misrepresented or no longer about the movie but instead made into a personal attack.

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    10. GeorgeM: i stopped respecting patrick and his writing once i realized he puts how other people think about him over his own opinions. there's no surer credibility killer as far as criticism is concerned than that.

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    11. GeorgeM: I don't understand how you can complain about people not responding to points in your post when the majority of it is not an argument, rather it is a personal attack against Patrick and those that enjoy this site. It makes no sense to expect a rational debate when you come out yelling like a child throwing a tantrum.

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    12. Patrick runs this website. If you don't like him, I assure you there are lots of movie websites not run by Patrick for you to enjoy.

      Or just keep coming back to this one to complain. That's cool too I guess.

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    13. If I wanted to suck Patrick’s dick, I’d go to his house and do it in person. I made fun of GeorgeM because he missed the irony of attacking someone for incorporating their personal politics into an artistic opinion with a comment fueled solely by personal politics. He came to a site to attack its publisher and the community he’s spent almost a decade cultivating instead of leaving a thoughtful comment about why he disagrees with Patrick’s original point, the kind of comments people here make all the time to start a conversation. He made an ad hominem attack and then criticized us for doing the same. He made it impossible to engage with his argument in a constructive way. We don’t feed trolls here. Please go away.

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    14. And the cult has spoken. It wouldn't have mattered how I said it I still would've been attacked so I might as well speak how I truly feel which has been building up for months. And yes he can put his political beliefs in his review but I also have the right to say how I feel about it and how I think he's hurting movies the way he talks sometimes. Im sorry im passionate about that subject but I guess that makes me a troll and I should just go away unless I have light and fluffy things to say to support the cult leader. My bad.

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    15. Who gets to be cult VP? I would have said Doug, but clearly it can't be LA Doug. Are we having an election soon? Also excuse me, Patrick says there's some Kool aid we need to drink. ;)

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    16. you're wrong, rob. he was reacting to the infusion of an irrelevant political opinion into a review of a movie about a self-regenerating comedic superhero. no one would bother coming to this site to troll. it's not worth it. readers came here because we loved talking about movies, but the conversation about movies here has been slowly edged out by the instinct to say whatever will go over best with whoever follows the twitter feed, or whatever complements what the contributors write up. you "made fun" of GeorgeM because it was the appropriate behavior for fitting in with the authors/fans of the site. you were being defensive. you don't care about engaging in constructive conversation, and your claim of attacking GeorgeM's "irony" is flimsy. your real motivation is much more obvious. you care about keeping friends by saying the right things to the right people. also, you've already gone to patrick's house to suck patrick's dick; i've seen the video of you doing it. your articles are one of the reasons i stopped visiting the site.

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    17. George - as a woman who reads the site I really admire what Patrick does in vocalizing his concerns with how some movies use their women. I think that it’s perfectly logical to criticize the points about them that may need addressing. Frankly, as far as I know Patrick has only ever criticized movies for this kind of stuff when they deserve it and you may be projecting something with your hyperbolic (and wrong) accusations that he claims “every movie is sexist”.

      Anonymous - What brought you back to the site to comment something so hateful now that you’ve been staying off of it like you claim you have? That big of a Deadpool fan? Looks like it’s not just us that can’t stay off Patrick’s dick

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    18. Alejandra: it was random. i genuinely stopped by out of curiosity on what patrick's opinion of the new deadpool was after months of not visiting the site, and the first thing i saw was the update sidebar reading "please tell me who hurt you." i immediately understood the context before even looking at the thread, and it was more than disheartening to see, because it was exactly what i would have expected to see, and what i was hoping i wouldn't.

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    19. You were right to expect that sort of reaction only because it’s the only kind of reaction that a message so low and spiteful like George’s warrants. I think George is perfectly justified in feeling whichever way he feels and having a conversation about it could have been useful to both parties involved. However, he chose to approach the conversation from an insulting and demeaning angle which fans of FTM are right in refusing to tolerate.

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    20. I've seen a lot people disagree with Patrick or challenge his ideas and not be ridiculed. The difference is, follow me here, they do it like an adult, and are treated as such. When you call an author " self righteous" in the first sentence, do you honestly expect a reasonable discourse to follow? The guy was behaving like a prick, and followed it up by playing the victim when he was ridiculed for it. He should run for president.

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    21. Alejandra I understand where you're coming from but we can't go to all these movies and shit on them every time a female character is killed. Yea they killed Vanessa but they gave us a bad ass female character in domino and they brought Vanessa back at the end. Plus I thought all the scenes with Vanessa in heaven were genuinely moving and gave the movie a heart. It's just a fun comic book movie that's not trying to be more than that. But according to Patrick we shouldn't enjoy Love Actually because there's a romance between a boss and an employee even though it's sweet and not exploitative or creepy. And Blade Runner 2049 is apparently sexist too. And there's a stink on Jackie Brown cause of the Harvey Weinstein thing. Or if a movie has a crazy woman in it like Gone Girl then it's sexist. Even though men and women can go crazy, we shouldn't put a female villain in a movie because that's bad representation. It just never ends. At this rate we aren't going to be able to enjoy anything anymore. I could look at Patrick's favorite movies and call out why they are sexist. James Bond is a good example. We all love James Bond but women are objects in those movies and Patrick can still love them and not go off on a huge thing about how we shouldn't like them anymore. He might briefly mention it but then he quickly moves on if it's a movie he loves. He acts all high and mighty towards these movies and it's upsetting. Movies are fun entertainment. Just let them be that.

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    22. The initial, dismissive tone was part of patrick's review. "TJ Miller is still in the movie and is never funny once, but his presence stands out as even more of an eyesore post #MeToo." i believe that politics are a fool's game, but there's no denying that patrick's statement demonstrate an ideological foundation, which automatically courts provocation. that's his prerogative, but acting with offense at a rebuttal of that opinion makes him look insecure at best, and brainwashed at worst. his decision to refute the dissenting voice flippantly is worse than the decision to voice his opinion, which is totally just, because it says, "whoever disagrees with me is ignorant." this is, naturally, not the case; and it's worse than anything else that a) it's invoked in the discussion of something as inconsequential as a superhero movie, and b) that it's defended so blindly by the site's users, simply because it is patrick's opinion. the "i don't want to yuck somebody else's yum" ethic of the site has rendered it pointless as far as discussion of movies goes, and it's adherence to popular, "politically correct" mores has made it, at the least, predictable to the point of (again) irrelevance. i believe that there are a precious few types of artists, and the political are the least valuable out of the lot.

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    23. If you’ve been with the site for a while, you would be aware that one of his best qualities is being able to criticize a movie while still acknowledging the things about it he loves. He does that in this very review. You would also know that he really digs movies like Jackie Brown And is genuinely navigating movies like Gone Girl the way an empathetic man would, questioning things that may or may not be problematic. We are able to criticize the things we love sometimes and that’s an amazing thing. What you did at the beginning of your reply to me could have really started an interesting conversation but you just didn’t approach it correctly the first time. Movies are absolutely fun entertainment but they reflect and influence a society that needs a lot of mending. If I use movies as an escape from the real world, id like to not see the same real world misogyny reflected in them.

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    24. Anonymous - evidently there is nothing one of us could say to change your mind about this. It’s not unlikely that Patrick maybe actually believes these things. A lot of these things, which are absolutely vile like what TJ Miller has been accused of, are absolutely worth criticizing with disgust and I’m really proud to be reading a site that talks about it.

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    25. i do not believe in movies as an escape from reality, but i also believe that they are rendered equally as impotent if used as tools for propaganda. i was led to this site by patrick's love of movies (he and potentially JB are the only authors on the site that i believe qualify for such a description), but was gradually pushed away by it's need to mollify its userbase. i agree that criticizing a thing you love is an essential impulse, and it's the reason i'm voicing my opinion here now; if this was the westboro baptist church's blog, for instance, i'd assume that they were too stupid to even comprehend an outsider's argument. i only criticize people i (at least hope to be able to) respect, because i assume that those i don't wouldn't even be capable of processing any criticism. i spoke up because i hope for the best for this site. otherwise, i wouldn't have even bothered thinking "i wonder what they thought of deadpool?" in the first place. there are plenty of movie review sites i have happily forgotten existed. it would be wonderful if fthismovie was not one of them.

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    26. Is there misogyny in all these movies or are you just looking for it where it isn't now? I agree that women are treated horribly in a lot of movies. You're a horror movie fan Alejandra. That genre is the most criticized for the way it objectifies and treats women and I guarantee a lot of your favorite horror movies have very bad representations of women in them. Yet you're still going to love horror movies and not feel the need to call every one of them out every time they do something like that. Its just a movie. Not real life. Separate yourself and have a good time. If you let every little thing in a movie that's not morally right drive you crazy then you're not ever going to be able to escape. And by the way you said the accused TJ Miller. You don't know what this guy did or didn't do. You guys read a headline and all of a sudden that's the hard a cold truth. If he did those things then he's a piece of shit but im not going to let it ruin deadpool 2 for me.

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    27. It’s pretty clear you don’t read many of my pieces, George, as I think I have criticized the horror genre and also championed horror movies that I perceive as elevating women in almost every single one that I write. Frankly, consider it a privilege that “if he did those things” it wouldn’t ruin a movie for you, because some women like myself don’t have the ability to look past something that hits so close to home. Patrick provides a platform for us to talk about those things and is also open to and defends the perspectives that aren’t as privileged. I find that this conversation is going in circles so I think that’s the last of what I’ll say.

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    28. So because you're a woman you think that you're more sensitive to things than I am? I hate Roman Polanski for what he did to that poor girl and I would never defend him but does that mean Chinatown and Rosemarys Baby aren't 2 of my favorite movies of all time? No. I love movies and Im an adult and can separate art from the artist. Don't tell me Im some ignorant man who doesn't understand what rape means and how horrible it is. Of course I do. Im just not going to read a headline and then condemn a film because of that. And yes I know you support women in filmmaking and I do too. My cousin was raped and got pregnant by her rapist and I was by her side when she was dealing with the aftermath so don't act like you're better than me or that you get things more just because you have a vagina and I don't.

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    29. "No. I love movies and Im an adult and can separate art from the artist."

      Apparently you save the vitriol for film critics/movie bloggers instead. I'm not sure what it says about you that when you're watching the work of a rapist like Polanski you're adept at tuning it out, but god forbid if someone were to mention it in a review (where the idea is to express their reaction to a movie). I guess Patrick deserves personal insults though because he's never made anything as acclaimed as Chinatown.

      I mean, you do realize that overall his review of Deadpool 2 was positive right? It's kind of hard to play the "At this rate we aren't going to be able to enjoy anything anymore" card when you're responding to a review for a movie that Patrick seemed to enjoy despite what he sees as flaws.

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  4. I also really hated when did that in the beginning that I hate sequels doing. I almost turned against the movie for it, but then I remembered Cable is a time traveler. After that, I didn't worry about it and the movie really won me over in a big way. I loved it, I thought it was pretty special. Still, I agree that using that is old and tired and no longer acceptable. While I forgive it, I understand someone else not wanting to.

    For me, the movie was a really fun comedy with great action and some really sweet emotion.

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  5. I just want to say that I'm in love with Zazie Beetz and I hope she has a long and awesome career ahead of her, which includes a solo Domino movie or three.

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    1. yep. I need her in movies, because I dont like Atlanta on fx - just not my cup. But she has a crazy good screen presence.

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  6. The movie is great. TJ Miller was never funny in anything (he was tolerable in Cloverfield). I think everything else works fine despite it suffering from Sequelitis (as you said Patrick, more of everything)

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  7. I personally love that Patrick isn't afraid to get political in his reviews (pleeeease do a Gone Girl episode because oh boy there is a LOT to talk about there). The idea that we should just abstain from politics and "enjoy movies" is the apex of privilege. And I personally don't consider voicing concerns about TJ Miller, or certain misogynistic tropes "political" - it's just being an empathetic person, and taking other people's feelings into account. That's what I've always loved about this site, and what keeps me coming back here every day.

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  8. This is the last thing I'll say on the subject because this is exhausting. You can have your political views and call out a movie for treating women poorly. But when you're doing it with almost every movie and being snarky about it like Patrick does it feels like he's doing it to feel superior. Im just saying not every movie that kills a female is hateful towards women. The issue isn't whether Patrick ultimately liked Deadpool 2 or not it's that he has to throw in his little digs because he thinks he's the champion for women's rights or something. Movies can kill off whoever they want and they can cast whoever they want. They didn't kill Vanessa in an ugly or hateful way there was emotion attached to it. And Im not team TJ Miller or anything but now im supposed to feel bad if I thought his character was funny in the movie or im supposed to object to what they did with Vanessa even though I think it worked for the overall story. If this was a once or twice thing id be like ok I get it but Patrick does it all the time and you guys eat it up. He can't even say an actress is pretty without saying "I don't want to reduce an actress to just her physical appearance..." It's ok to say a girl is attractive without being gross about it but he can't stand the fact that one of his cult members might think he's misogynist or something if he says someone is pretty. But he's got this cult of cool around him so no matter what I say it's not going to get through to anyone here. So Im done. Sorry for starting a war on the subject.

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    1. Heya Georgie. First of all, I wouldn't say Patrick is THAT cool - smart, funny, thoughtful and an exceptional writer? Absolutely. But no one with half a brain over 30 really gives a shit about cool. And anyone who isn't a champion for women's rights is an asshole, man, don't you get that yet? It's not optional for a good person to not talk about this stuff anymore. I don't think anyone is suggesting you are not "allowed" to like certain things with certain people, but if the thought doesn't at least cross your mind (and if you, say, run a site/podcast that discusses film and you don't even mention it), then you are part of the problem. So the fact that you're not going to "get through" to anyone here has nothing to do with how cool Patrick is and everything to do with you being at least partly an asshole. Never too late to change though, bud, stick around and this site may actually help make you a better person.

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    2. I must say, I was surprised to run into this kind of thread after being away from the site during a busy week. GeorgeM and Anonymous: I noticed your tone shifted toward the civil and nuanced the further down the thread I got. That's to be commended. It made for some actual interesting, if not enlightening, discussion. By no means is anyone on this site infallible, and I can see what you're talking about when you point out that some of us have a tendency to bend over backwards to meet certain standards of political correctness or avoid causing offense. But I think that effort is usually well spent.

      At the beginning of this thread, both sides were mostly talking past each other and doing nothing constructive. It wasn't until your later comments that I could see some of your potentially valid points (e.g., It's usually necessary to give yourself over to a movie in order to fully experience/enjoy it and certain "concerns" can interfere with this process if they are always at the forefront of our minds.) This is not to say that we should just ignore bad messaging in a movie. But it doesn't have to ruin movies for us, although it might (and that's fine too).

      I think Patrick may be particularly sensitive for whatever reason. It could be elements of his upbringing, experiences of a friend, visceral reactions to other art, or any number of things. Personally, I'm not quite as sensitive, and I don't think it's necessarily bad of me to not be. But I also don't fault Patrick for his sensitivity.

      One last question: How should people respond to a comment like your first one? I'm not baiting here. I am genuinely curious of what is the best course of action for a community of readers who like the primary author of a site and want to defend him against what they see as unfair criticism or attacks. I thought the little name jokes were on the tame side, but I will admit that they weren't productive. I'm sure I'm not alone in my desire to avoid spats like this in the future. Should we just ignore a comment like that? Should we engage directly while trying to deescalate with a respectful tone?

      Thanks for checking back in. So long as we can actually discuss our disagreements I think the site and community is better off with occasional dissent. We learn nothing new in an echo chamber. Cheers.

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  9. zaazie Beets was great in this movie. Her action set piece and performance during the set piece was amazing. I didn't mind the CG characters. They look fake but its a good fake.

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