Back in 2016, Deadpool showed that audiences would embrace “R”-rated superhero films. In 2018, Deadpool 2 demonstrated that audiences liked what they saw enough to come back for a sequel.

While Deadpool 2’s $318 million US didn’t quite match the original’s $370 million, it came reasonably close. All of this will inevitably lead us to Deadpool 3 a few years down the road.

When a contract killer comes after super-powered Wade “Deadpool” Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), the hero’s girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) winds up dead instead. This leaves Deadpool suicidal, but his healing abilities won’t allow him to die.

To move along, Deadpool agrees to join the X-Men, and they find themselves with a new threat. Time-traveling cyborg Cable (Josh Brolin) arrives from the future to kill a young mutant named Russell (Julian Dennison) so Deadpool and the others attempt to protect him.

Though I liked the first film, I thought it needed a while to get into a groove. All the “fourth wall violations” and meta comments felt forced at times, so it took some time for the tale to settle into something more natural.

That feels like less of a problem with Deadpool 2, mainly because it steps into an established universe. With the original, we needed to get to know the characters and situations, conditions that forced a lot of exposition our way.

“Origin stories” often suffer from a certain form of clumsiness, and that seemed amplified with Deadpool due to the wise-cracking nature of the presentation. Like I said, it became more involving as it went, but the first act felt like moderately tough sledding.

Again, this seems like less of an issue here, partly due to the way it fits into the world we already know. Also, Deadpool 2 comes with a more serious vibe, one that de-emphasizes the wackiness.

A little, that is – don’t expect Deadpool 2 to offer a dark drama ala Logan. However, it manages more of a grim tone, one abetted by Brolin’s presence. While Cable gets some laugh lines, he follows a pretty somber path, and Brolin doesn’t attempt to goose the frivolity.

This feels like a good choice on a lot of levels. I’m glad Brolin plays the role straight, as we don’t need more winking at the camera, and I’m also happy Deadpool 2 attempts something more serious.

Given the first movie’s reception, it would’ve been easy for the sequel to “give the people what they want”: two hours of pop culture references and wisecracks. And to be sure, the movie throws tons of gags our way.

Nonetheless, it grounds the sarcasm and mirth in something deeper. As mentioned, Cable’s story becomes a major part of this trend, though Deadpool’s journey adds to the meaning as well. Both sides give the film heart and manage to bring out something more impactful than just the usual violent shenanigans.

Of course, those violent shenanigans fare nicely, too. The scene in which Deadpool’s “X-Force” first goes into action subverts expectations in a delightful way, and plenty of other action moments boast great thrills.

I suspect most fans will prefer the original film, but I think the sequel works better. It builds on the first flick’s strengths and adds dimensionality to become a wholly satisfying “R”-rated superhero adventure.

Footnote: as expected, the film includes bonus material during the end credits. However, the theatrical cut lacks any footage at the conclusion of its running time.

Deadpool 2 appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. This became a largely strong presentation.

Sharpness worked fine for the most part, though some exceptions occurred. A few interiors came across as a little on the soft side, but those remained infrequent and minor. I saw no signs of jaggies or moiré effects, and the film lacked edge haloes or print flaws.

If you suspected Deadpool 2 would come with the modern standard teal and orange palette, you’ll get what you expected. I’d like to see action flicks dispense with those conceits, but given their restraints, they looked appropriate here, and a few other hues occasionally popped up as well.

Blacks came across nicely. Dark tones were deep and rich, without any muddiness or problems. In addition, low-light shots gave us smooth, clear visuals. All in all, this became a pleasing presentation.

I also felt happy with the solid Dolby Atmos soundtrack of Deadpool 2. Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the mix offered plenty of opportunities for lively auditory information, and it took good advantage of these.

From the opening scene of Deadpool’s assault on various baddies to gunfire to explosions to other action elements, the mix filled the speakers on a frequent basis. The track placed information in logical spots and blended all the channels in a smooth, compelling manner.

Audio quality was also positive. Music sounded lively and full, while effects delivered accurate material. Those elements showed nice clarity and kick, with tight low-end.

Speech was always distinctive and concise, too. This mix worked well for the film and added to the experience.

How did the 4K compare to the Blu-ray version? The Atmos mix added more involvement and kick, while the visuals came across with stronger brightness/colors and better definition.

That said, the 4K wasn’t a major visual upgrade over the Blu-ray. While the 4K came with improvements, these seemed relatively minor, so don’t expect a big step up in quality.

This package includes two versions of the film. In addition to the theatrical release (1:59:20), we get a “Super Duper $@%!#& Cut” (2:13:59).

Most of the extra 14 minutes, 39 seconds comes from extensions to existing scenes, but a few unique moments occur. For instance, we find a sequence in the X-Mansion’s kitchen, and there’s an infamous addition to the time travel coda.

Both versions of the film work fine. I don’t think the longer cut offers anything crucial, but it also doesn’t drag or suffer from any problems, so it’s a good alternate edition of the movie.

Note that the “Super Duper $@%!#& Cut” adds a post-credits tag. The theatrical only provides a mid-credits sequence, but the longer version throws in an exclamation point at the very end.

Alongside the theatrical cut, we find an audio commentary with director David Leitch, writer/actor Ryan Reynolds and writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. All four sit together for this running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, editing and cut footage, stunts and action, music, effects and related domains.

Though it seems a bit disjointed at the start, the commentary comes together pretty quickly. Once the chat gets into a groove, it moves well and covers a good array of subjects, all of which help make it an informative view of the production.

The remaining extras all appear on the included Blu-ray copy, and two Deleted/Extended Scenes appear: “Park Bench” (0:36) and “Hitler Coda Extended” (1:52). The former adds a brief clip during Wade’s attempts at suicide, while “Coda” presents slightly longer/altered version of the time travel bit already found during the credits for “Super Duper”. Both are inconsequential but fun.

A Gag Reel goes for three minutes, 11 seconds. Though it offers a lot of the usual goofs and giggles, it throws out some alternate bits that make it enjoyable.

Many featurettes follow, and Deadpool Family Values fills 15 minutes, nine seconds with notes from Leitch, Wernick, Reynolds, Reese, co-creator Rob Liefeld, stunt double Andre Tricoteux, producer Simon Kinberg, and actors Julian Dennison, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, TJ Miller, Eddie Marsan, Josh Brolin, and Zazie Beetz.

“Values” examines cast, characters and performances. It comes with a few minor insights but it tends to be superficial and forgettable.

For more about the director, we go to David Leitch, Not Lynch: Directing DP2, an 11-minute, 39-second program with Miller, Leitch, Liefeld, Kinberg, Brolin, Marsan, Baccarin, Wernick, Reynolds, Reese, 2nd unit director David Eusebio, and actors Shioli Kutsuna, Brianna Hildebrand, and Karan Soni.

As expected, “Lynch” discusses Leitch’s work and impact on the set. Like “Values”, it comes with a smattering of decent details bit it lacks a lot of depth.

We look at attempts to keep story/characters under wraps with Deadpool’s Lips Are Sealed: Secrets and Easter Eggs. The 12-minute, 52-second piece includes Reese, Wernick, Delaney, Reynolds, Leitch, Baccarin, makeup designer/supervisor Bill Corso, and actors Lewis Tan, Bill Skarsgard and Terry Crews.

“Sealed” looks at movie elements that fall into the “spoiler” territory as well as the work done to keep some components from public exposure. It can be interesting to hear about the levels of secrecy, but the show disappoints because it alludes to Easter eggs that it fails to reveal.

Called Until Your Face Hurts: Alt Takes, the next reel lasts nine minutes, 25 seconds and features Wernick, Reese, Reynolds, Kinberg, Leitch, Brolin, Miller, Soni, and Dennison.

As the title implies, it looks at different reads of various scenes. That sounds more interesting than it is, as “Takes” doesn’t give us a lot of new material.

Roll With the Punches goes for six minutes, 57 seconds and features Leitch, Reynolds, Marsan, Eusebio, Beetz, Brolin, stunt performer Alex Kyshkovych, and visual effects supervisor Dan Glass.

Here we learn about stunts and action. Though a meatier featurette than the others, “Roll” still tends to be somewhat superficial.

With the 11-minute, 28-second The Deadpool Prison Experiment, we heat from Reynolds, Leitch, Reese, Dennison, Wernick, Glass, Brolin, Eusebio, Liefeld, production designer David Scheunemann, costume designers Kurt Swanson and Bart Mueller, property master Dan Sissons, and actors Jack Kesy and Robert Maillet.

“Experiment” views the design of the prison set as well as characters and props. It’s not terribly substantial but it throws out some good nuggets.

After this we find The Most Important X-Force Member, a two-minute, 21-second clip with Delaney, Reynolds, Reese, Wernick, and Leitch. The brief reel brings quick thoughts about the “Peter” character. It’s pretty forgettable.

Another short piece, Chess With Omega Red goes for a mere one minute, 16 seconds and features actor Dakoda Shepley. We get a slightly closer look at one of the background mutants in the prison. Like “Important”, it seems mediocre at best.

At two minutes, 12 seconds, Swole and Sexy gives us a short reel that includes Dennison, Soni, Leitch, Brolin, and Reynolds. “Swole” mainly views Brolin’s physical transformation for the film, and it feels fairly blah.

”3-Minute Monologue” actually runs two minutes, 14 seconds. We see Brolin in the makeup chair as he spouts a mix of jokes. It becomes another minor addition.

Within Deadpool’s Fun Sack, we get a mix of components. “Videos” provides 17 forms of promotion, with an emphasis on trailers and teasers. Many of these sell the movie in clever ways, so they’re much more fun than usual.

“Stills” includes 28 frames. The collection mixes posters, photos and other promotional elements. Some fun material appears.

A rare sequel that outdoes the original, Deadpool 2 manages to couple the first movie’s positives with newfound depth. Add a fine turn from new castmember Josh Brolin and the second chapter tops its predecessor. The 4K UHD offers largely good picture along with excellent audio and a long roster of bonus materials. Deadpool 2 becomes a solid comedic adventure, and the 4K UHD presents it at its best, even if it doesn’t become a major upgrade over the Blu-ray.

To rate this film, visit the prior review of DEADPOOL 2