Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews

A lot was riding on Wade Wilson’s red-spandex-clad shoulders. Not only did he have to save his friends, his world, and reality as we know it (more on that in a moment), but he had to stick the landing of his movie trilogy and resuscitate the notoriously flagging Marvel Cinematic Universe. And with his audacious threequel, Deadpool & Wolverine, he did it.

Wade (Ryan Reynolds, also a producer and co-writer) has lost his way in life, and dreams of becoming an Avenger to set things right, but he’s shown the door. Unbeknownst to him, meanwhile, the climactic events of Logan had serious consequences, but Wade’s offered a chance to leave all his disappointments behind and become the hero he longs to be… with one enormous catch. His counter-solution to the imminent timeline-ending crisis (it’s a Loki thing but they explain it) is to find a replacement Wolverine from somewhere in the multiverse in order to restore balance, and events quickly spin wildly out of control. Soon, our titular duo is staring down an unexpected nemesis with the power to obliterate all of existence, and their only chance of stopping her comes from an even more unexpected group of “new” allies.

By this point in the saga, the fourth wall has been completely obliterated, making Deadpool & Wolverine the most meta of the bunch. It’s funny, it’s incredibly violent, it’s thrilling and—no surprise—the return of the charismatic Hugh Jackman as a certain adamantium-enhanced X-Man catapults the story into the stratosphere.

This is a rare Dolby Vision release from Disney, but rumor has it there will be more of these in the future, which is great news indeed as Deadpool & Wolverine looks nigh-flawless, clean and sharp with virtually no noise. Both of our heroes’ costumes have a faint texture to them that reproduces wonderfully, and many of the CGI elements are extremely subtle, optimally preserved here. Colors are vibrant when they need to be, with a wide gamut that brings the 2.39:1 image to life with a striking realism. Backgrounds and shadows as well are resolved with generous detail.

The elaborate action sequences will make aggressive use of your Dolby Atmos setup, notably the arrival of a giant, hungry smoke monster, with organic phasing between channels and natural implementation of off-screen cues. The calmer moments too display a welcome spaciousness that truly envelops us in just about every scene. Note that the HD Blu-ray supplied in this two-disc package tops out at DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1.

The fun continues on the 4K disc’s wholly enjoyable Reynolds/director commentary, while the HD Blu-ray adds several short video bonus features, among them a glimpse behind the scenes of the epic third-act battle, in-character promos, a gag reel and two minutes of deleted scenes. A unique printed Movies Anywhere code unlocks a 4K digital copy plus all of the extras. Multiple packaging variants are available, including two different steelbook covers and a Walmart-exclusive Blu-ray.

Much like Wade, the MCU was in need of some major course correction. Albeit with a lot of help, Ryan Reynolds has managed to restore our faith in the superhero franchise, making him nothing short of a marvel in my book.

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Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray
Fox/Disney, 2024
ASPECT RATIO: 2.39:1
HDR FORMATS: Dolby Vision, HDR10
AUDIO FORMAT: Dolby Atmos with TrueHD 7.1 core
LENGTH: 128 mins.
MPAA RATING: R
DIRECTOR: Shawn Levy
STARRING: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Matthew Macfadyen, Rob Delaney, Morena Baccarin