Blu-ray Movie Reviews

"Austin Powers Collection: Shagadelic Edition Loaded With Extra Mojo" includes: "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery"; "The Spy Who Shagged Me" and "Goldmember".

Myers created quite the generational icon with Austin Powers. His spoof on the popular James Bond films is completely over the top but manages to keep things in enough balance to stay funny without being completely stupid. The first two films were the strongest but the third film starting getting a bit ridiculous in its themes despite being a take on one of my favorite Bond films. Still, you can’t deny the impact these films have had over the past years. I still hear them being quoted more often than I’d like.

The DVD transfers of these films were long considered to be some of the best eye candy out there for color rendition and these new HD encodes deliver as well. Colors are definitely the highlight and the second film is probably the strongest in this regard. All of the films exhibit nice detail and depth but the third film edges the set out in overall picture quality. The second film shows a bit of wear from time to time but nothing overly distracting. All of them look very similar in most respects but Goldmember has a touch more detail and overall dimension. Fans of the films won’t be disappointed.

All three films feature Dolby TrueHD soundtracks and all of them do a great job of being fun and playful with the mix. The scores tend to go overboard a bit but this only helps the gag of the films. The action sequences open up the mix a bit and some of the film’s songs do a great job with the main soundstage. Bass response is solid across the set and deep bass response is there when it needs to be. Dialogue is consistent across the films in timbre and balance. Overall a great presentation on all fronts.

Extras vary from film to film. The first film has a feature commentary and some deleted scenes but not much else. Surprising given the breadth of supplements the DVD edition delivered. The second film has a feature commentary as well plus a collection of deleted scenes and music videos for the film’s songs. You also get a Comedy Central piece on the movie. The third film gets the most goodies and features a Focus Point interactive supplement that lets you jump out of the film from time to time and get a peek at the production. From there you get quite a selection of production features including in depth looks at the production, research and visual effects. Music videos for the film’s soundtrack are included along with the trailers.

This has always been a fun series and it is nice to see they eye candy in HD. While I wouldn’t call myself a huge fan of Mike Meyers, I still enjoy these ones. A perfect set for fans this holiday season.