Deadpool 4K UltraHD

Deadpool follows an irreverent wisecracking superhero who saves the world from humorless super-bad guys while dealing with the angst of his past and his disfiguring transformation into Deadpool. (Doug Blackburn)

Special features include commentary with Actor/Producer Ryan Reynolds and Screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, commentary with Director Tim Miller and Deadpool Co-Creator/Comics Artist Rob Liefeld, 10 deleted and extended scenes with optional commentary by Director Miller (HD 19:14), a gag reel (HD 06:12), the featurette From Comics To Screen…To Screen (HD 80:00), a gallery, Deadpool’s Fun Sack of videos and stills, a sneak peek, and an UltraViolet digital copy.

Sourced from a 4K digital intermediate created from 3.4K Arriraw digital images and Super35 film for some scenes, Deadpool exhibits noticeably more image detail than UHD discs sourced from 2K digital intermediates, but not quite the same level of detail you get from original sources with full 4K or higher resolution. The images have a worthwhile increase in detail compared to the HD Blu-ray and are further improved over the HD version with HDR. The color palette is slightly muted at times but not enough to be distracting. Much of that muted character comes from the mostly colorless urban location choices and overcast skies (Vancouver, B.C.) present in most outdoor scenes. Brightly colored environments do not appear often but look relatively natural when they do. Lighting in night scenes is generally stylized rather than natural. (Doug Blackburn)

The sound from the main channels is excellent and very typical for big-budget action movies. There’s really nothing to complain about. Demonstration-quality scenes abound, but choose carefully, as Deadpool can be a bit rough for kids. Sound details are handled well, and some of the more involved scenes have very complex and well-executed mixes. The sound in the scenes where Deadpool is shooting bad guys and counting down the number of bullets he has left are especially well done, right down to the “ping” in the airborne empty shell casings from, presumably, being mechanically ejected from the pistol. This is another disappointing Immersive Sound experience, with almost no real immersion effects except for very specific sounds being placed in the height channels. For example, when a huge helicopter lands, you hear the sound of the motor in the height channels, but nothing else. If you were that close to a helicopter that huge, the wind noise and rotor noise coming from over your head would be very loud, but it’s entirely missing here. Ditto for most any other environmental ambience. In the mostly cement bio lab, you would expect lots of echo/reverb in the height channels from people talking, footsteps, HVAC sounds, electronic lab equipment sounds, etc., but there’s nothing but silence from the height channels. (Doug Blackburn)