Blu-ray Movie Reviews

The first act of this lightweight horror film draws you in, starting with ancient palace intrigue and moving to turn of the (20th) century Egypt. The second act is OK, if implausible. The third is loaded with action, but also suggests the CGI artists just got a new software sandbox and just had to play in it.

But the movie is fun, and the cast is perfect. Brendon Fraser is more appealing in this sort of tongue in cheek humor and action role than anyone since Harrison Ford put on his first hat. And Rachel Weisz is just as effective as Karen Allen was in Raiders, though far less spunky. Memo to Paramount: If Indy 4 ever gets off the ground, cast Fraser as Indy's inevitable (demographics rule), younger protg.

This is one of Universal's best HD DVDs yet—which means that is one of the best from any studio. Its resolution is jaw-dropping; the details in the ancient Egyptian scenes in the first part of the movie, in particular, jump off the screen. Only rarely does a soft shot rear its fuzzy head, clearly from minor flaws in the source material.

The Dolby Digital Plus sound is good, though the recording of Jerry Goldsmith's score is a little edgy. There's also less cellar-dwelling bass than I expected. Still, the sound fully supports the action.

The disc also includes three different commentary tracks—rare for a high definition release in either format.

(Picture: 9.0 (out of 10), Sound: 8.0, Film: 6.5)