Deadpool 2 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Deadpool 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 21, 2018

If the ineffable charm of Ryan Reynolds can help lift a property as questionable as even the recently reviewed National Lampoon's Van Wilder 4K, that may be an indication both of how powerful Reynolds’ charm is, as well as how low the bar can be set in terms of the dreck he’s sometimes found himself in. Deadpool 2 may not have quite the kick of Deadpool, but it easily tops the “quality bar” alluded to above, offering another pretty raucous assortment of hilarity, “meta” pronouncements, and adrenaline pumping action sequences. The film is bookended with two laugh out loud references to Logan, with Reynolds’ Wade Wilson initially lambasting the “hairy” Marvel superhero for riding Deadpool’s coattails, and then, in a series of just jaw droppingly funny vignettes interspersed as the closing credits begin, returning to confront Wolverine again (more than once in a way, but that won’t be spoiled here). In between these highly amusing moments, Deadpool 2 traffics in the usual fare of superhero films, with Wade dealing with an unexpected tragedy which throws him into a tailspin, only to rebound (more or less, anyway) as a “trainee” with the now politically correct renamed X-Force.

One of the chief plot points of Logan is used to both comedic and dramatic effect in Deadpool, but for those who have yet to see either of these films, without overtly detailing things, let’s just say that even superheroes have to “ride off into the sunset” someday. That may seem like an “impossibility” for Wade, who is of course gifted (cursed?) with near miraculous healing powers, but Deadpool 2, despite what Deadpool refers to in just one of many fourth wall breaking moments as “lazy writing” on the part the scenarists (which includes Reynolds, by the way), crafts a conceit whereby mutants who have been incarcerated are outfitted with a little “necklace” that short circuits any “superpower” proclivities they may have.

Deadpool is encumbered with just such a disabling device only after he’s marauded through a bevy of bad guys (the film has a good fifteen minute prelude before the opening credits), which in turns leads to the central tragedy of the film. With his life in a tailspin, Deadpool attempts to “one up” Logan (in a manner of speaking), which then leads to him being rescued (again in a manner of speaking) by Colossus. There’s the cheeky humor typical of this still nascent franchise bubbling just underneath some already fairly dark material, but the upshot of it all is that Deadpool manages to heal emotionally, at least a little bit, by forging a new “family” with various mutants.

His new status as a “trainee” with the X-Men, er, X-Force leads him to a showdown with an out of control young mutant named Russell Collins (Julian Dennison), who insists he be called Firefist, which may give a clue as to his particular superpower. Russell had been a “resident” (inmate?) at a “reeducation center” run by the martinet zealot headmaster (Eddie Marsan), and he’s none too happy about the abuse he’s suffered. Deadpool rather unexpectedly manages to get through to the kid, who is destroying things right and left, but Deadpool himself has a bit of an overreaction when he finds out about the abuse suffered by Russell, which soon leads to both Deadpool and Russell being outfitted with those aforementioned neck adornments, with both of them being shipped off to the Ice House, a kind of maximum security prison for the most incalcitrant mutants.

Meanwhile, a time traveling soldier named Cable (Josh Brolin) shows up at the facility and starts blowing things up, with Deadpool coming to the understandable conclusion that Cable is after him. It turns out of course that Cable is actually on the hunt for Russell, since Russell evidently grows up to be a very bad boy indeed. Cable has not so coincidentally suffered a tragedy very similar to Deadpool’s, linking the two characters even before certain plot machinations makes the two unexpected partners. Into this morass of competing motivations another potential nemesis is unleashed when the petulant Russell decides to team with Juggernaut, who is also being held at the Ice House.

While the above gives the general outlines of Deadpool 2, as with the first film, this follow up is stuffed to the gills with sight gags, and one especially funny sequence comes when Deadpool and Weasel (T.J. Miller) attempt to recruit a new team to work with Wade. That leads to the introduction of one of this film’s “new” major characters, Domino (Zazie Beets), whose “superpower” is nothing other than luck, something that Deadpool repeatedly insists can’t be a superpower. While Domino gets her fair share of butt kicking scenes in the film, some of the other recruits don’t fare nearly as well, as documented in one of the film’s most hyperbolic but admittedly hilarious sequences that serves as a prime example of Murphy’s Law, Deadpool style. The film kind of repeatedly goes to "nothing is sacred" mode, but much as with the first film, it's actually unabashedly appealing, at least to those with somewhat jaded viewpoints about so-called "tent poles".

This release offers two versions, with the Super Duper Cut running around fifteen minutes longer than the Theatrical Version. It has some excellent new bits, as well as at least one soundtrack change that may ruffle some feathers, but it's one of the rare instances where an alternate version is actually a lot of fun on its own merits. What's kind of interesting about the alternate cut is how different lines, or sometimes even words, are in scenes that are in the theatrical version, along with bits that aren't in the theatrical version at all.

Deadpool 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Deadpool 2 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The closing credits include a "captured with Alexa" logo and the IMDb lists a 2K DI, which is kind of interesting, since the original Deadpool is listed as having been finished at 4K. Despite that difference, this is another largely fantastic looking offering, one that is suffused with some occasionally kind of odd grading choices that set the film somewhat apart from an arguably more "naturalistic" looking palette of the first film ("naturalistic" being a decidedly relative term in this case). Fine detail is typically great looking throughout this presentation, with the crosshatched ribbing of Deadpool's suit one very notable feature (I detected just the barest hint of some image instability on the pattern on the chestplate in a couple of shots, but it was fleeting). The mottled appearance of Wade when he's maskless is also virtually palpable. The "Hallmark moments" I allude to below in the closing comments (and which will hopefully be clear to anyone who's seen the film) are intentionally soft looking, with a kind of hazy appearance that tends to tamp down fine detail, something that's probably only exacerbated by some kind of honey yellow grading. Some of the prison sequences have very minor deficits in shadow detail, but again, these are niggling qualms that may not even rise to a level of notice for some, let alone annoyance. As with the first film, I found some of the CGI to be a little soft looking, though I was more generally impressed with the rendering of Colossus this time around (as with the first film, the "texture" of his smooth steely exterior is really interesting looking).

Deadpool 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Deadpool 2's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix offers a boisterous accounting of the film's glut of source cues and the equally bountiful array of explosive sound effects. The film starts with a literal bang, and rarely lets up afterward, with a number of sometimes hilariously (sound) designed set pieces offering fantastic surround activity. While there's excellent attention paid to ambient environmental sounds (not necessarily outside — the prison setting is really expertly rendered from a sound design standpoint), some of the gonzo action sequences provide some of the best immersion. The sequence where a number of team members meet their fates has some great moments (one involving a hapless character meeting the rotors of a helicopter), and a later sequence with Domino attempting to drive a brakes-less prison vehicle also has some extremely enjoyable placement of effects in the side and rear channels. Fidelity is top notch throughout the presentation, and all elements are delivered cleanly and clearly without any problems whatsoever.

Deadpool 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: For clarity's sake, Fox provided the 4K UHD release which includes two Blu-ray discs that I'm assuming are the same as the ones in the standalone Blu-ray release.

Disc One features the Theatrical Cut (1080p; 1:59:20) along with the following supplements:

• Deleted/Extended Scenes (1080p; 2:36)


• Gag Reel (1080p; 3:11)


• Deadpool Family Values: Cast of Characters (1080p; 15:09) offers an overview of several characters, but has a few spoilers along the way.


• David Leitch Not Lynch: Directing DP2 (1080p; 11:39) has some agreeable snippet interviews with Leitch and others, and also has some fun on the set footage.


• Deadpool's Lips Are Sealed: Secrets and Easter Eggs (1080p; 12:52) focuses on the secrecy surrounding the shoot and other hidden things.


• Until Your Face Hurts: Alt Takes (1080p; 9:25) isn't just takes, but interstitial interviews, so this plays more like an EPK.


• Roll With the Punches: Action and Stunts (1080p; 6:57) has some enjoyable footage of various set pieces being filmed.


• The Deadpool Prison Experiment (1080p; 11:28) has some generalist interview segments that finally start to hone in on the prison setting of the film.


• The Most Important X-Force Member (1080p; 2:21) is devoted to Paul, er, Peter, the more unlikely member of Deadpool's team.


• Chess With Omega Red (1080p; 1:16) is a behind the scenes bit with one of the prison inmates.


• Swole and Sexy (1080p; 2:12) features two of the more, well, nerdy, out of shape characters, along with another more fit guy.


• "3 Minute Monologue" (1080p; 2:14) offers Josh Brolin getting made up.


• Audio Commentary by Ryan Reynolds, David Leitch, Rhett Reese and Paul Warnick


• Deadpool's Fun Sack 2

  Videos (1080p; 35:22) offers a variety of often pretty funny things like a teaser (with Stan Lee), Deadpool as Bob Ross, and a piece on tattoos.

  Stills (1080p; 2:23) offers either a Manual Advance or Auto Advance option. The timing is for the Auto Advance option.

Disc Two offers the Super Duper Cut (1080p; 2:13:59) with no Supplemental content (see screenshot 20 for a look at that disc's Main Menu). The audio and subtitle options on this cut are the same as for the Theatrical Version.

Deadpool 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's one set of earnest sequences involving the aforementioned tragedy in Deadpool's life that Deadpool 2 returns to which may strike some as "Hallmark moments" in an otherwise pretty scabrous outing. The fact that Deadpool 2 is actually able to get away with these, as well as a couple of other kinda sorta heartfelt moments, is one of the key elements of what makes this rough and rowdy new franchise so enjoyable. The humor here is as bitingly sharp as in the first film, even if this follow up can't muster the same built in surprise factor that the original Deadpool had going for it. Technical merits are first rate, the supplemental package bountiful, and for once the alternate cuts of the film are both worth watching for their own peculiarities. Highly recommended.