Deadpool Blu-ray Review

Are you wearing your brown pants? Good. Deadpool is the first superhero movie since The Avengers to take a risk and come out swinging with hilarious jokes, kickass action scenes, and a guaranteed franchise. While the Blu-ray, disappointingly, isn’t as bombastic as the movie, it’s definitely worth picking up for Deadpool alone.

Starring Ryan Reynolds as the crude, loud, violent, hilarious, but sentimental Deadpool, this story is about an anti-hero who is trying to save his fiancé (Morena Baccarin) from being killed by the British villain, Francis (oh, I mean Ajax), who is brilliantly performed by Ed Skrein. If you have no idea what the humor is like in Deadpool, this advertisement that spoofs healthcare product commercials perfectly portrays what this character is about.

I love this movie.

In a sea of superhero movies releasing every year, Deadpool stands out as a balls-to-the-wall comedy and I was laughing throughout its entirety, even during the opening credits. It makes fun of the superhero origin movie plotline as well as the standard British villain. Plus, the special thing about this movie is that there are jokes which break the fourth wall and make sense with the character.

However, it’s not just the sense of humor that makes this movie special. Somehow, they made this smart-mouthed anti-hero a protagonist you can care about, despite how awful he is to others. Ryan Reynolds makes the character charming through his charismatic performance as Wade Wilson, and the story is actually moving when Wilson and his fiancé find out that he has cancer. It turns from a superhero movie to a romantic comedy, then to a drama and a horror film, and then a superhero movie again (while succeeding at every genre).

There’s something in this for everyone (except for kids. It’s very gory and crude – it deserves its R rating). Even my Mom, someone who doesn’t typically like superhero movies, actually said to me that she enjoyed it. And that might be due to the chemistry that Reynolds and Baccarin have during the romantic comedy segment of the film. Unlike so many other superhero titles, such as Thor and Man of Steel, you truly believe these two characters love each other. It’s charming, the comedy between them is top notch, and makes Deadpool a fantastic (but unorthodox) Valentine’s Day film.

The great thing about watching Deadpool on Blu-ray is that you can catch more jokes and other aspects of the dialogue because there isn’t an audience who is laughing around you. The writing is so snappy that it was difficult to catch all the lines in the theater. TJ Miller is also hilarious as Weasel, Wade Wilson’s wisecracking best friend. He delivers his lines with great timing.

Despite having a lower budget than other superhero movies, Deadpool’s action scenes do not disappoint. From the hesitant Colossus fighting Angel to Deadpool only having a few bullets to take out a squad, director Tim Miller brings fluid, bombastic action to the screen every single time. During these scenes, Deadpool also makes the pop culture references and quips that the character is known for, and every single one hits. I especially liked the joke about Regina as, since I moved to Canada, I’ve joked about it.

The practical and CG effects are also seamless. Colossus looks like he fits in the world, the animations on Deadpool’s face perfectly illustrate emotion, and the fight scenes look heavy, precise, and spectacular. In addition, the choreography of Angel’s fight with Colossus and Deadpool vs. Ajax’s goons is stunning to watch.

Just like Deadpool in the above picture, I’m gushing about this movie, but I do have a few issues. While Ed Skrein plays a daunting villain who you love to hate, we have no idea what his organization is and what they’re after. His backstory and intentions are not explained, except for the knowledge that he works for an organization who turns cancer patients into mercenary slaves for their own bidding. It would have been great to have Deadpool interrupt the movie and explain everything about Ajax (or Francis) and the organization he works for. Gina Carano as Angel is barely given any lines as well and, in result, ends up as a forgettable character despite a hilarious fight scene between her and Colossus.

This Blu-ray sadly lets the film down slightly. The menus, despite a somewhat funny location and background on-screen, are played down to a typical Blu-ray format with the same theme (despite it being a catchy song) playing in a repetitive loop. X Gon’ Give It To Ya can only “give it to me” so long before it gets old. In addition, I was expecting Deadpool to pop in and make a remark on how long I was taking to pick an option. Back in my childhood, there was a DVD for a TV show called Dick & Dom in da Bungalow. It was a children’s TV show on BBC that was also crude but in a very childish way. On the DVD, there were easter eggs with the presenters of the show, Richard McCourt and Dominic Wood, speaking to the people behind the television. It was quite funny, and I was hoping that Deadpool would do something similar: Something as creative as the film and the social media advertising it had. This was a missed opportunity.

The behind-the-scenes documentary is almost as long as the movie, and it is jam-packed with background information on the process. Ryan Reynolds discusses how the shoot affected the downtown traffic (and how he was public enemy #1) and Brianna Hildebrand (Negasonic Teenage Warhead) admits an embarrassing secret that was awkwardly shared with Reynolds. They detail how each character was written into the narrative and the special effects in the movie. For film fans, this documentary is fantastic, with appearances from the main cast, Rob Liefeld, the comic book creator, and Tim Miller. However, for a movie like Deadpool, I was hoping the anti-hero himself would make a few jokes about the process in the behind-the-scenes documentary. It felt strangely structured, but it was a great look into the behind-the-scenes process.

And the behind-the-scenes documentary is not the only information you will get from the filmmakers. 20th Century Fox included not just one, but two commentary tracks. The first includes Ryan Reynolds, and the screenwriters of the film, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernic. You can tell from the commentary that these three have plenty of comedic chemistry. They play off each other well and you can tell that they love the character and the comics. Sometimes, in this track, they miss certain scenes I wish they talked about but, overall, it’s insightful as they explain the long process of making this a reality. Tim Miller and Rob Liefeld give interesting knowledge on the film’s production, how the character is portrayed, and their opinions on the superhero genre in the film’s other commentary track. It’s a fascinating listen; it’s as if I’m listening to an in-depth podcast. Both commentaries are entertaining and worth watching the film again with.

You also might be happy to know that the Blu-ray includes deleted scenes, the hilarious Deadpool social media publicity videos/trailers, and a gag reel (which includes lines that were improvised and had me laughing out loud). There is also a gallery of concept art, storyboards, costumes, stunt-vis, and pre-vis.

Deadpool is one of the most fresh comic book movies in years. With a fantastic cast, hilarious writing, and epic action scenes, Tim Miller, Ryan Reynolds, and the crew were able to create a film that will leave an imprint on the superhero genre for years to come. It’s just a shame that the Blu-ray wasn’t more creative with the subject material.

A Blu-ray copy of Deadpool was provided by 20th Century Fox for the purpose of this review