6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 2.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Larry spans the globe, while embarking on an epic quest to save the magic before it is gone forever.
Starring: Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Ricky GervaisAdventure | 100% |
Family | 94% |
Comedy | 83% |
Fantasy | 72% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
There’s an ineluctable melancholy to Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb that has nothing to do with the film’s sometimes slathered on emotional content as it supposedly wraps up the kinda sorta trilogy that also included Night at the Museum and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. No, the bittersweet quality is due squarely to the fact that two titans of American film, Mickey Rooney and Robin Williams, are on display, inevitably reminding us of their passing, which in the case of Williams at least seems cruelly untimely and tragic. Rooney at least made it to the venerable age of 93 before shuffling off this mortal coil, and his brief appearance in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb is perhaps upsetting more in terms of seeing how infirm the old guy was at the time of shooting (consigned to a wheelchair and looking like he may have had a stroke at some time). But Williams? Williams’ self-inflicted demise was shocking enough, but to see him here reprising his role as Teddy Roosevelt (or at least a living mannequin version thereof) is an inescapable reminder of what a force of nature he was. It’s an especially heartbreaking situation when the film’s very plot involves the “mortality” of the magically sprung to life museum artifacts, and when Teddy utters lines like, “It’s time to let us go.” That aspect aside, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb is a somewhat haphazard but ultimately generally satisfying wrap up to the series, one that tries to inject a bit more human element into its typically CGI laden wonderment.
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. This is a sometimes problematic transfer, though not having seen it in its theatrical exhibition, I can't state definitively whether the anomalies are an inherent part of the film's digital photography or some issue in the encode of this Blu-ray disc. According to the IMDb, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb was filmed with Red Epic cameras and boasts a 4K DI and at least some source material at up to 6K resolution, but a cursory examination of several screenshots accompanying this review (notably 11, but take a look around at others) shows that the image is often afflicted with splotchy yellow artifacts. These often crop up on digitally shot films in darker sequences, but what's a least a little concerning about this is that these are readily apparent even in scenes boasting fairly bright and natural looking lighting (look at Robin Williams' cheek in screenshot 2 for just one example). The good news is that these are not quite as problematic in motion as some of the screenshots might suggest. Aside from this somewhat distracting issue, the rest of this transfer is really sharp and nicely defined. Fine detail is excellent in close-ups and the CGI is often nicely crisp and precise looking. Aside from the requisite color grading (e.g., the yellow tint to sequences like the opening Egyptian prologue), the palette is warm and inviting and very natural looking. The film's neat looking M.C. Escher sequence (see screenshot 4) boasts a very sharp and well defined image that doesn't dissolve into moiré or aliasing.
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb features a boisterous and immersive lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix. The surround activity can be rather frenetic at times, as in the opening celebration sequence or, later, in a nice set piece involving Lancelot and a many-headed snake (isn't that Hercules territory?). The set piece taking place "inside" an iconic M.C. Escher work also features great surround placement. Dialogue and score are both presented very cleanly and are well prioritized. Fidelity is top notch, dynamic range is extremely wide, and there are no problems of any kind to report.
Note: Both of the galleries offer manual and auto advance options. The timings above are for the auto advance option.- Pre-Vis (1080p; 1:05)
- Photos (1080p; 1:00)
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb is unavoidably elegiac in both its inherent tone as well as its "meta" aspect with regard to Williams and Rooney. That tends to undercut a bit of the humor while also providing an unexpected emotional resonance to the proceedings. There are some really fun set pieces in this outing, including the spectacular M.C. Escher vignette, as well as some scattered hilarity and at least one very funny cameo (Camelot-eo?). If the film is ultimately a little sad and unambitious, it's still wonderful to have a few last minutes with such an enjoyable daft set of characters. There are some issues with the video presentation that may cause concern, but audio and supplements are both excellent, and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb comes Recommended.
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