Mummy, The: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor

In the third installment of The Mummy series, renowned explorer Rick O'Connell (Fraser) and his family find themselves at the center of an eon's-old struggle against good and evil. A 2,000-year-old curse is about to be broken, waking The Dragon Emperor and his 10,000 loyal warriors from their eternal slumber after spending millenia enTombed in suspended animation as terra cotta statues. Now it is up to O'Connell to stop the Emperor and his army from totally dominating the land. (Stacey Pendry)

Disc One (Theatrical Feature 112) special features include a commentary track by Director Rob Cohen and the following interactive U-Control features: Scene Explorer, Know Your Mummy, The Dragon Emperor's Challenge, Visual Commentary With Director Rob Cohen, a Picture In Picture behind-the scenes track, a User Guide to help you navigate the interactive and Internet-supported features, and up-front previews. BD-Live™ functions include My Scenes Sharing and downloadable exclusive content; a My Scenes option to create a clip montage; 10 deleted or extended scenes (SD 10:45); the following featurettes: The Making Of The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor (HD 22:49), From City To Desert (HD 15:44), and Legacy Of The Terra Cotta (HD 13:35). Disc Two (Bonus Features) includes the following featurettes: A Call To Action: The Casting Process (SD 4:45), Preparing For Battle With Brendan Fraser And Jet Li (SD 10:41), Jet Li: Crafting The Emperor Mummy (SD 7:59), and Creating New And Supernatural Worlds (SD 8:35). There is also a digital copy of the film.

The 2.42:1 AVC 1080p picture quality is exemplary of the Blu-ray Disc format, with resolution that exhibits finely resolved textures and details. Contrast is superb with deep, rich blacks and fine shadow delineation. The production design and art direction are amazing with incredible textural treatments that are fully resolved in the picture. Colors and hues are rendered naturally with a richness that is mesmerizing. There are no noticeable artifacts or noise to distract, which enhances the pristine transfer. This is a beautiful reference quality picture that establishes itself as one of the best Blu-ray Discs. The DVD version simply does not even come close to the presentation quality of this disc. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1 soundtrack is fully engaging, with an energized holosonic® presence throughout. The sound is extremely dynamic, with powerful deep bass effects below 25 Hz and full SPL levels that can be system threatening. Surrounds are aggressive, with directionalized effects. The tomb scene early on is amazing for its sonic visualization and dynamics, as are many other scenes throughout. The music score is well recorded with a wide and deep soundstage and surround presence. Dialogue sounds natural, and the ADR portions are nicely spatially integrated. This is a wonderful soundtrack that provides the necessary foundation to this exciting film. The resolution heard is definitely superior to the Dolby Digital version on the DVD. (Gary Reber)