Well, it finally happened! After years of masterful passive aggressive campaigning, Ryan Reynolds finally got Hugh Jackman to come play in the Deadpool arena. There was also the teeny preconceived concern of Disney now owning the merc with the mouth and neutering him. Now sitting on one of the most financially successful films ever, to the tune of almost 1.4 billion dollars, we know those fears could be set aside. The two leads of this film effortlessly ooze charisma and entertain from start to finish, earning their obscene pay packets.

Now I’m gonna be a bit of a wet blanket…

I liked this movie. I enjoyed it in theatres opening week as I enjoyed reviewing it again for home media. It definitely had some piss in your pants funny bits throughout and satisfied any fan, whether Annie Wilkes devoted or mildly interested. And I will easily revisit it from time to time. But, to me, it didn’t match the first two Deadpool flicks quality storytelling.

Through the time travelling/multiverse mumbo jumbo of Marvel’s post Infinity War saga offerings, Deadpool (Reynolds) resurrects Vanessa (Marina Baccerin) with Cable’s time travelling gizmo and tries to go join the Avengers. None of it works out well and he creates a potential disaster. Now treading water in a menial life, Wade is conscripted by the TVA’s leader Paradox to stop the end of his own universe. Logan (Jackman), the Wolverine, is the anchor point Deadpool needs to save Vanessa and his world again. Only Logan died. Not discouraged, Wade searches the multiverse for another Wolverine, but the one he finds isn’t in a helping mood. They end up in a cancelled superhero purgatory at the mercy of Charles Xavier’s evil twin sister (Emma Corrin). There’s hijinks and cameos galore before a turncoat is revealed and the boys save the day.

It’s a congested mess of a story. If you’re not up to speed on multiverses and the TVA, established in Loki on Disney+, the premise gets quickly bogged down in convolution and technobabble. Almost the entire film plays like a who will pop up next variety show, never steeping you in the story it tries to tell. The antagonists are also weak and uninteresting. But what really ground my gears was the film diminishes the well-established supporting characters from the first two to nothing parts. It lessens this one considerably in my eyes.

Now, if you’re gonna get Hugh Jackman in your flick, you better damn well use him, and boy do they. He and Reynolds are why this film is as good as it is bad for me. Their odd couple dynamic, melded with hyperbolic violence and faux hatred, is a delight and completely succeeds. There’s a vehicle fight between them that strays into too much of a good thing can wear thin territory. But I’ll take more of them than most.

Look, this is a fun night at the movies. It deserves its success and I’m glad they made it. I just wish they had focused as much on the story as they did on the event, giving those wonderful support characters more to do and truly challenged the heroes with a worthy antagonist. That’s what Deadpool & Wolverine is: a thrilling, entertaining event. What it isn’t is a great story.

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital 4K

Home Video Distributor: Disney / Buena Vista
Available on Blu-ray - October 22, 2024
Screen Formats: 2.39:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Video: Dolby Vision, HDR10; Dolby Vision, HDR10
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos; English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1; French: Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1; Audio descriptive
Discs: 4K Ultra HD; Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray locked to Region A

VIDEO

Well, this is flawless. The flick was shot in digital and rendered out to 4K in sumptuous detail. Colours pop thanks to the DOLBY Vision/HDR10+ HDR, especially the two leads’ costumes. Detail is off the chart; the clarity is a feast for the eyes. Some of the cartoonish effects throughout stick out more at this resolution but that’s on the filmmakers not the tech. Perfect in every way.

AUDIO

Mic drop. Also perfection incarnate. The 4K gets a DOLBY Atmos 7.1 ear bleeding surround-gasm experience. Action sequences can shatter the glass wear, dialogue is concise and clear, the LFE effects are copious and amazing, the surround experience is completely immersive. This is a show off your system kinda deal.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• Audio Commentary by Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds

Special Features:

Yeah… the days of effort being placed into these home releases is well and truly over. The 4K disc has a commentary track. The blu-ray has a couple of featurettes of behind the scenes stuff. Nothing flashy here, folks. There are copious editions currently available, all overpriced for what you get. But this is the era of physical media becoming niche I guess.

• Finding Madonna: Making the Oner (06:23)
• Practical Approach: Celebrating the Art of Ray Chan (09:44)
• Loose Ends: The Legacy Heroes (10:11)
• Wolverine (06:09)
• Deadpool's Fun Sack 3 (03:22) offers a PSA for testicular cancer, among other "comedy" bits.
• Gag Reel (04:39)
• Deleted Scenes (02:17)

	Movie
	Video
	Audio
	Extras
Composite Blu-ray Grade

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 128 mins
Director: Shawn Levy
Writer: Ryan Reynolds; Rhett Reese; Paul Wernick
Cast: Ryan Reynolds; Hugh Jackman; Emma Corrin
Genre: Comedy | Superhero
Tagline:
Memorable Movie Quote: "Welcome to the MCU. You're joining at a bit of a low point."
Theatrical Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Official Site: https://www.marvel.com/movies/deadpool-3
Release Date: July 26, 2024
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: October 22, 2024.
Synopsis: https://www.marvel.com/movies/deadpool-3.