When 2016’s Deadpool hit theaters, it was a necessary change of pace to the world of superhero films we had become accustomed to.

It was filthy, it was funny, it avoided the Summer season entirely (landing in the crisp cold of February), and it broke the fourth wall, constantly.

Fans - for the most part - loved it. I…sat a bit more mixed on it. I felt that the best interpretations of Deadpool focused on the pathos of the character, and the humor as a way of directing his pain and against, and was less drawn to the “monkey cheese" nature of the character. I did, think, however, that it had a brilliant showcase of Ryan Reynolds, finally getting the due he deserved as a leading action hero, I just wanted the flick to give him more to do.

Two years later, Deadpool 2 has arrived in theaters, and the question is - can lightning strike twice?

The problem for this movie is, unlike the first, the element of surprise is gone. It’s benefit is that this movie actually has some moments you can sink your teeth into. The action is stronger, the plot is bolder, the cast is wider and more diverse, and the humor - while still intensely graphic and appropriately childish - works…for the most part. (One sequence, in the style of the “tiny hand" gag from the first, had me in tears laughing.) Deadpool 2 lives up to the idea of what a proper sequel should be - larger in scope, more adventurous in tone, and more daring in its attempts to please the audience.

As a film, Deadpool 2 doesn’t work entirely - the first act is sort of stop and go, and the plot is a mess if you were to try to write it out step by step (and in a note to the writers, Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick - who wrote this installment with the help of Reynolds and wrote the first - just because you can have Deadpool point out bad writing doesn’t necessarily absolve it) - but if the audience I saw it with this afternoon is any indication, that doesn’t matter. It’s a full on crowd pleasure, with big laughs, big explosions, and just pure fun.

You may note that thus far, I haven’t really touched on the plot. Given that the trailers actually have done a great job of obscuring many moments and surprises from the film, I’m going to avoid going beat by beat here - but I can say that the movie takes Wade Wilson, our favorite hitman from the first film, and thrusts him into an adventure including the 90’s comic favorite, Cable (a time-traveling, giant gun carrying, cybernetic arm having Josh Brolin), a grumpy teenage fire starter named Russell (Julian Dennison, playing a very similar role to what he did in Hunt for the Wilderpeople, albeit with mutant powers), and Wade forming the first cinematic incarnation of X-Force, including the movie debut of the luck-having Domino (Atlanta’s Zazie Beatz, in a brilliant turn, including some shockingly cinematic sequences showcasing her luck-based abilities).

Deadpool 2 doesn’t strike the same lightning as the first film - but it’s a much better film than the first, and that’s all you can ask for in a sequel. The action is kinetic, the goofs are constant, the R-Rating is earned. Besides, how can you be mad at a movie whose score features a full chorus chanting “Holy Shit Balls"?

If that last sentence sold you - congrats, Deadpool 2 is the movie for you. If you didn’t like the first at all? This won’t bring you over. But if you, like me, felt the first showed promise - Deadpool 2 delivers on that promise in spades.

Deadpool 2 is in theaters now.