Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Deadpool
May 9, 2016
Deadpool - Buy from Amazon: DVD. Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 4K
Deadpool is proof that a troubled production doesn't necessarily result in a bad product. A Deadpool film with Ryan Reynolds was first proposed more than a decade ago, while this version has been in some form of production on and off since 2010. Now that the film has finally been made, was the wait worth it? And is the DVD / Blu-ray worth picking up? ... I won't be able to answer that second question, because I only have a digital screener. This also means I have to watch the movie on my computer, which is a pain. At least I don't have to stream it.
Deadpool is hard to review, because it starts in medias res. The opening credits include some of the better jokes in the movie and has the camera moving in and around a "freeze frame" from one of the biggest action scenes. The movie then flashes back to the beginning of that day before flashing back to when Deadpool was Wade Wilson. These nested flashbacks make it harder to review the movie, because it's harder to tell what is an important detail and what is a spoiler. I'm going to go with the order the events are depicted in the movie, but I'm going to have to skip some details.
The film starts with Deadpool in a taxi with Dopinder. He says it's Christmas Day, even though it's April. It's Christmas Day to him, because he's finally tracked down the man he's been hunting for a long time, Francis Freeman, a.k.a. Ajax, who is introduced in a quick scene. (He's a mutant / weapons dealer.) We get to the action scene we saw in the opening credits before we cut away to...
The X-Mansion, where we see Colossus eating breakfast and watching the news. When he hears reports of what is happening, he correctly concludes its Deadpool. He calls Negasonic Teenage Warhead, his trainee, to help bring Deadpool in. However, before they even get there, we flashback two years to...
Before Wade Wilson got any super powers. He was still a mercenary, but one who will take jobs pro bono if the mission is right. For example, the first, and only, mercenary job we see him pull off, which is stopping a stalker from harassing a teenage girl. Back at the bar where the mercenaries hang out, Wade talks to his friend, Weasel, and then meets Vanessa, who turns out to be the perfect woman for him. Sadly, the perfect romance doesn't last, as Wade is diagnosed with advanced cancer. Vanessa wants him to stay and fight the cancer, but Wade has a much more pessimistic outlook on this. Not only is he convinced he's dead, but he's sure it is going to be such horror show that he wants to leave her and spare her what will come. When he is contacted by The Recruiter, who claims he can not only cure Wade Wilson, but give him super powers.
And here's were the two timelines become a liability for critics. We cut back to the modern day timeline and run right into spoiler territory. However, the past timeline still hasn't reached the point where we see the true origins of Deadpool. We haven't even met two of the important supporting characters, Angel Dust, Francis' sidekick, and Blind Al, Deadpool's roommate. Without getting into too much detail, the organization The Recruiter isn't on the up and up and Deadpool spends the next year trying to get to Francis to make him undo what he did to him.
Ryan Reynolds wanted to play Deadpool since 2004. ... You can tell. He nails this character better than just about any other actor has nailed a super hero role before. Furthermore, he has amazing chemistry between every other character he interacts with. ... With the possible exception of Angel Dust, but that's only because I don't think she says a single word to him. In fact, outside of the "wardrobe malfunction" scene with Colossus, I don't remember Angel saying anything at all. That "wardrobe malfunction" scene is also one of the best of the movie and it shows the writers understood Colossus very well. The writers and actors did a fantastic job of bringing all of these characters to the big screen. There's not a single one I wouldn't want to spend more time with.
Furthermore, the action scenes in the movie are impressive. This was Tim Miller's first film as director, having previously worked as special effects supervisor on a number of movies. The action scenes have a fun flow to them and they are kept interesting, for the most part. The early scene with Deadpool trying to beat up Colossus went on a little too long, as did the montage of Wade Wilson being tortured into becoming Deadpool, but those are really the only only scenes that suffer from that issue. There also wasn't a ton of action, just the opening action scene, which is split up due to timelines, as well as the final confrontation. Most of the movie is dialogue driven, but as I said above, the characters are great and the dialogue is fun, so I didn't have a problem with that.
We do need to talk about the rating. The film is rated R... in the United States. It's 14a up here in Canada, which is similar to your PG-13 ratings. The action is sometimes R-rated, which will turn off some members of the audience. I won't deny that. However, there are two points that need to be made. Firstly, the violence in this movie isn't gratuitous and I don't understand why seeing someone shot in the head with brain splat is R-rated but remove the brain splat and it's PG-13. How is sanitized violence better? I can understand sadistic violence being rated more harshly, like torture porn, but that's not the case here. Secondly, some characters just need to be R-rated in order to be faithful to who they are. Deadpool is one of them. Wolverine is probably another. ... Superman is not, nor is Captain America. A very recent interview with Kevin Feige shows that he knows the difference. I'm a little worried that the people over at Warner Bros. haven't figured this out yet.
One last note, I still like Kitty Pride's reaction to Negasonic Teenage Warhead's name from the comics better than Deadpool's reaction to her name in this movie.
Like I said, I don't have the Blu-ray yet, so I can't comment on the extras, but there are two audio commentary tracks, making of featurettes, deleted scenes, etc. It's quite a long list.
While some people might be turned off by the R-rated nature of Deadpool, those who are fans of the character will likely love this movie. I can't wait for the sequel, which apparently begins shooting in the fall. I really hope they had a script reading before the film was a hit, otherwise this fast turnaround could mean a terrible end product. In the meantime, the DVD. Blu-ray Combo Pack, or 4K is worth picking up and a serious contender for Pick of the Week.
Video on Demand
The Movie
The Extras
The Verdict
Filed under: Video Review, Deadpool, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Jed Rees, Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Feige, Gina Carano, Karan Soni, Tim Miller, Ed Skrein, Brianna Hildebrand, Leslie Uggams, Stefan Kapicic, Style Dayne, Taylor Hickson