It's no surprise Universal is including both The Mummy and The Mummy Returns in their first wave of Blu-ray releases with the third installment in the franchise The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor hitting theaters in early August. These two releases, along with a release of The Scorpion King, also replace the previously released HD DVD versions now that the format has died and Blu-ray has been declared the winner. The two Mummy movies boast additional special features over their HD DVD counterparts including a U-Control feature on each, while The Scorpion King is actually stripped down to only the U-Control picture-in-picture feature, but no worries considering that movie is downright awful and that will more than suffice along with the needless director's commentary.

Both Mummy movies include all the features found on the recently released Deluxe Edition DVDs and a quick comparison to the HD DVD edition shows a surprisingly VAST improvement in not only picture but primarily audio. The two Mummy films have been visually restored and all three releases boast a DTS audio track that makes their HD DVD counterpart sound dull and weak. To be honest I was extremely surprised to see the difference between the two HD formats as I have made comparisons before and never saw much of one, but this was staggering.

As for special features, I already told you nothing special was added to The Scorpion King, but there are a few differences between the Blu-ray release to previous DVD releases excluding the recent 2-Disc deluxe editions.

Both Mummy films include the BD exclusive U-Control picture-in-picture feature giving you a behind-the-scenes look at the film while you watch it. Both also include a look at The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and the Unraveling the Legacy of The Mummy featurette. The only other feature that crosses across both discs is the "An Army to Rule the World" featurette with Part One on The Mummy disc and Part Two on The Mummy Returns.

The Mummy Returns boasts a couple of features not found on the HD DVD edition including "An Exclusive Conversation with The Rock" and "Storyboard to Final Film Comparison". Neither is worth bragging about, but I am here to offer the information in this case so that's what you get.

Overall, in terms of upgrading I would say it depends on how picky you are about your audio and video quality. All three releases are going to be an obvious step up over any DVD release you may own and, as I said, they are also an improvement on the HD DVD versions if you own the dead format. If you are looking for that improvement and need it, then I think you already know what to do, otherwise, hold off and maybe the sure-to-be-released trilogy set will catch your eye.

For those of you that are looking to buy any, or all, of these three films for the first time you can't do any better. Personally I enjoy both The Mummy and The Mummy Returns while I hate The Scorpion King. I actually bought The Mummy on HD DVD as I missed out on receiving an HD DVD review copy when it was released and I actually like them enough to believe an upgrade is an option, which should tell you what I think about buying the BD copies of both Mummy films. Of course, they are an acquired taste. Both films are goofy and extremely glossy without much substance, but as action filled popcorn flicks I think they are a lot of fun.

Related post categories: Blu-ray, Home Video News, Reviews : The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, The Scorpion King

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