Rave reviews for Deadpool 2's 'fantastic' Julian Dennison

Ryan Reynolds and Julian Dennison on the set of Deadpool 2. Photo / Supplied

The first reviews for the highly anticipated Deadpool 2 have dropped, calling Kiwi star Julian Dennison "fantastic".

The Hunt For The Wilderpeople actor plays young mutant Russell aka Firefist. He's a teenager who's copped a rough deal growing up in an orphanage for mutant kids, and whose powers are out of control. The whole film centers around keeping him safe and in check.

The Rolling Stone hailed Dennison's performance as "fantastic", while others like Digital Spy noted Dennison was a "perfect fit" for the role.

The film itself has garnered mostly positive reviews with many critics hailing it as one of those rare sequels that is better than the original.

Variety wrote: "In almost every respect, this sequel is an improvement on its 2016 predecessor: Sharper, grosser, more narratively coherent and funnier overall, with a few welcome new additions. It's a film willing to throw everything - jokes, references, heads, blood, guts, and even a little bit of vomit - against the wall, rarely concerned about how much of it sticks."

Most of the negative comments center around it being "obnoxious" and overly meta and self-congratulatory but most critics seem to agree that's part of its charm.

"Is Deadpool 2 obnoxious? Is it needlessly self-aware? Is it drunk on its own fairly tame naughtiness? Is it so stuffed full of unrelated pop culture references that it sort of feels like a meme shirt come to life? The answer to all those questions is a resounding yes, but it's also, weirdly, refreshing," Uproxx wrote.

However there are also those who were bored by it - The Wrap wrote: "Deadpool 2 never betrays the promise of the first film; it just doesn't build on it, choosing instead to replay the greatest hits" and called it an "entertaining but by-the-numbers do-over".

The New York Times slammed Deadpool 2 for using "its self-aware irreverence to perform the kind of brand extension and franchise building it pretends to lampoon".

Deadpool 2 stars Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Zazie Beetz, Morena Baccarin and of course, Julian Dennison.

It hits New Zealand cinemas today.