Deadpool 2

Everyone’s favourite Merc with a Mouth is back. Clocking in at a lengthy three minutes and forty-one seconds, the Deadpool 2 trailer is really more of a short film – a continuous sequence that is so asinine, so excessively self-aware, and so true to the original material that the trailer could very well serve as the opening scene in the feature film. True to Deadpool form, the music consistently serves as a punchline in jokes so subtle that they are liable to soar above the heads of most movie goers, clever references directed towards the hyper vigilante pop culture connoisseur. For readers who are familiar with Deadpool, it should come as no surprise that this trailer warrants Trailaurality’s first ever “Not Safe For Work” warning: viewer discretion is advised for depictions of violence, strong language, and even a little male nudity.

The trailer opens with the soothing sounds of strings from “A Walk in the Woods” by Marco Beltramias as a man walks down a dark street, accompanied by the urban street sounds of air breaks, a cat’s meow, and the distinct jingle of liquor bottles jostling in the man’s backpack with each subsequent step. The music is a subtle nod to Deadpool’s obsession over Wolverine; audiences may recognize “A Walk in the Woods” from the original soundtrack of The Wolverine (2013), the first of the trilogy starring Hugh Jackman. This is the first of multiple allusions the trailer makes to the shared cinematic universe. The song is replaced by another as Ryan Reynolds’s character stops and removes his earbuds when he sees an elderly man being mugged. The audience gets a glimpse at the vigilante’s musical tastes: “St. Elmo’s Fire”performed by John Parr.

A few expletives later, Wilson leaps into action, sprinting towards a lonely phone booth to change into his Deadpool costume, parodying Clark Kent’s absurd costume changing routine. The trailer emphasizes the Superman lampooning with the music: John William’s Superman March. The music is interrupted by frequent calls for help from the alley, trivializing the heroism that the music was initially intended to instill. The urgency that the music and the sounds of the off-screen violence conveys is further undermined as Deadpool struggles to get dressed into his costume, even stopping to make a frustrated phone call to a man named Laird who usually helps him get dressed in his costume, thereby breaking the fourth wall.

The music cuts abruptly as a gunshot rings out, leaving a void of ominous silence previously occupied by the old man’s screams. Stan Lee makes his compulsory Marvel cameo and Deadpool, recognizing him to be Stan Lee and further breaking the fourth wall, tells the man who penned his character to “zip it.”“St. Elmo’s Fire” returns at the chorus as Deadpool sprints triumphantly towards the alley, only to stop in his tracks, finding the man dead. The song stops with the familiar sound of a record slowing to a halt on a turntable. Deadpool apologizes to the deceased for not arriving sooner and subsequently lays down against him, carrying on a conversation as he eats the man’s discarded groceries. Hans Zimmer’s “You’re So Cool” plays out the scene. Deadpool references Wolverine again, making fun of Hugh Jackman’s Australian accent despite the fact that he usesan American accent in the X-Men franchise.

In all of its ridiculousness, the Deadpool 2 trailer promises a movie that is as over-the-top as its predecessor. The lighthearted R-rated trailer pokes fun at superhero conventions through its exaggerated use of music, using iconic soundtracks and sound design to position itself as a meta-superhero movie. The Deadpool 2 trailer, titled “No Good Deed,” is a basket full of Easter eggs to kick off your long weekend.

– Andrew Sproule