With the success of the first film, Deadpool 2 had its work cut out for it. The original movie was a gamble, the wisecracking, cussing antihero, combined with generous amounts of CGI gore assuring it an R rating.

And in doing so, it could have easily sealed its fate, excluding a huge chunk of potential audiences in the under 18 crowd. It was a gamble that paid off however, the wisecracking superhero was a breath of fresh air when compared to many of the otherwise formulaic and ‘safe’ superhero films that came before it.

Picking up shortly after the original, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) and Wade (Ryan Reynolds) are reunited and planning a child together. Fate once again intervenes however, and Vanessa is killed during an ambush at the couple’s home.

To restore some meaning to his life, the grief-stricken Deadpool befriends the young mutant Russell (Julian Dennison) and is determined to give the troubled youth the start he and Vanessa were both denied.

With the appearance of the time-travelling Cable (Josh Brolin), it’s discovered both Cable and Rusell’s fates are intertwined. With the help of the newly formed X- Force, Deadpool sets out to save Rusell from not only himself but the cyborg-like Cable, who will stop at nothing to see the teen dead.

Deadpool 2 is not only bigger but far more ambitious than the first film, introducing a raft of new characters, including Juggernaut (voiced by Ryan Reynolds), Domino (Zazie Beetz) and Cable.

While Deadpool 2 is just as wild a ride as the original, it takes a while to find its feet.

It spends a little too long reintroducing and expanding on the characters from the first film. Sometimes, however, supporting roles are best just left as that. Although Dopinder (Karan Soni), was hilarious in the first film, he’s frequently over the top in Deadpool 2.

Again, Ryan Reynolds is superb as Deadpool, although some of his humour is a little too self-aware, taking shots at everything from casting decisions to the absence of more noteworthy X-Men. Used sparingly, such as in the first film, it’s funny, but when overdone it’s distracting.

It may take a little while for the film to find its feet but once it kicks into high gear, look out! Crammed with just as much over the top action and laughs as the original Deadpool, it’s incredibly entertaining and a very worthy addition to your movie library.

Much of the charm of the first film was its uniqueness. The new characters have kept things fresh and helped create a movie that I suspect will be loved by fans just as much as the original.

Video

Deadpool 2 brings home the Chimichangas with an excellent Blu-ray transfer.

The overall colour palette varies depending on both the content and the mood which the film’s creators wish to imbue. For example, during the skydive at time/time, colours appear natural, yet during the heaven sequences, golden tones are used for effect.

Regardless of the colour tone, flesh tones are largely convincing and natural.

Barring the occasional scene where resolution is deliberately soft, the bluray picture is sharp and defined. Likewise, detail is abundant, whether it’s fine details in faces or the texture, dirt and soot in Deadpool’s suit.

Black levels are also solid, never appearing elevated nor crushed. All in all, this is an excellent transfer.

Sound

Unlike the Ultra HD version which features Dolby Atmos, the Blu-ray is limited to a DTS-HD 7.1 soundtrack. Despite not having an object-based soundtrack, fear not! The DTS-HD 7.1 is excellent, just falling short of reference.

For much of the movie, the sound is mostly confined to the front soundstage, the rear speakers used sparingly. Although the DTS: HD 7.1 soundtrack is channel based and contains no discrete height information, I’m used to hearing more from my height channels when using DTS-HD + Neural:X.

It’s when the action starts that the DTS: HD 7.1 soundtrack reveals what it’s truly capable of. At these times the surround speakers are used to full effect, the soundtrack making full use of all of the speakers available to it.

Effects whip around the room, with the sound having a good sense of weight no matter where it’s coming from. With the volume control on my Denon AVC-X8500 hovering between -12 to -9 the sound was both dynamic and engaging.

The subwoofer also got a workout, with more than enough bass to be not only heard but also felt.

For the most part, the dialogue was delivered cleanly and intelligently, even during the film’s more action-laden moments.

While the soundtrack may not achieve the much coveted 5 amazeballs, it’s an engaging home theatre experience that is good enough to remind you why you invested in a good home theatre system.

Review System

Video: ISF Calibrated Epson EH-TW8200 Projector, Oppo UDP-203 and Screen Technic’s 100” Cinema Snap Fixed Projector Screen.
Speakers: Sonique Diamond 550 SE front, Sonique Centaur centre, Sonique DB1 surround and Sonique Slim 3 in-ceiling speakers.
Subwoofer: VAF Research 10” Prototype
AV Receiver: Denon AVC-X8500H

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