Deadpool 2 was more fun and less uncomfortable than 2016’s Deadpool. At least for me. YMMV, of course. The film unmistakably earns its R-rating, so it’s not one to bring the kids to.

That said, it does clear my Threshold of Awesome, thanks to some final scenes putting it over the top. Yes, there’s a scene interrupting the early credits, and although there’s no after-the-credits scene, stick around for the audio at the very end.

In terms of tone, I’d categorize Deadpool 2 as an action-comedy in the same vein as Spy and The Hitman’s Bodyguard (both of which I really enjoyed.) And then there’s the way Wade Wilson breaks the fourth wall¹, allowing him to tell jokes other movies can’t get away with like commenting on the soundtrack².

¹ Deadpool knows that the Marvel Cinematic Universe exists, and that he’s not part of it. If you’re heavily invested in the Avengers films Wade Wilson’s commentary may be very satisfying.
² Children of the 80’s may get a bit more out of the musical juxtapositions than later generations will. My daughter loved that the music was weird and out-of-place. I loved that it was weird and out-of-place, and yet perfectly suited for the scene because I remember the music video. 

I enjoyed Avengers: Infinity War, but not unreservedly. It has brilliant, beautiful moments, and it does some daring and wonderful things with character and story, but there are reasons why audiences are not exuberantly cheering on their way out of the theater.

I want to make a recommendation, but I can’t do so without brushing right up against the threshold of spoilers and pointing at some interesting footprints on the other side of that line. Here’s the line.

And here’s my recommendation: If you’re an adult with kids who love the Marvel movies, you should see Infinity War without them before deciding to see it with them. This film is about 75% what you expect from an Avengers film, but that other 25% is definitely not what you expect. It might be more convenient for you, as a parent, to have already processed those bits before you have to process them with small people.

Avengers: Infinity War marks the point where the Marvel Cinematic Universe fully and finally commits to being a collection of blockbuster films that are also serial installments, with everything that the word “serial” implies. It does not cross my Threshold of Awesome yet. I hold out hope that it will do so in 2019…