“The Rock Action 3-Pack” Blu-ray Review
What better way to bring out some of The Rock’s biggest titles from Universal than in a back-to-back-to-back pack. Although The Scorpion King saw a Blu-ray release late last year to coincide with the release of the third The Mummy film, Doom and The Rundown are two entirely new additions to the Blu-ray format. Although available separately, the three-pack is budget priced and is a great way for Rock fans to get a triple-hit of action on Blu-ray quickly and easily.
First up on the set is the 2005 video game adaption, Doom: A frantic call for help from a remote research station on Mars sends a team of mercenary Marines into action. Led by The Rock and Karl Urban, they descend into the Olduvai Research Station, where they find a legion of nightmarish creatures, lurking in the darkness, killing at will. Once there, the Marines must use an arsenal of firepower to carry out their mission: nothing gets out alive. Based on the hugely popular video game, DOOM is an explosive action-packed thrill ride!
Next we have the funny and action-packed The Rundown: The Rock teams up with Sean William Scott for a wild, non-stop action-adventure. Beck (The Rock) is a bounty hunter sent into the treacherous jungles of the Amazon to bring the rebellious Travis (Seann William Scott) back to the States. When Beck and Travis reluctantly join forces to hunt down a priceless treasure this unlikely team embarks on a pulse-pounding adventure thrill-ride that delivers a non-stop action and unbelievable fight scenes.
Finally we have The Rock’s first big action role with The Scorpion King: Set 5,000 years ago in the infamous city of Gomorrah, The Scorpion King is a head-on confrontation between good and evil. Warlord Memmon (Steven Brand) has created a reign of terror across the desert using a sorceress (Kelly Hu), who envisions all his victories. Only a few free tribes remain and in order to defeat Memmon they reluctantly hire Mathayus (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) to kill the beautiful sorceress. Instead, he kidnaps her to lure Memmon into a trap. With the help of the leader of the free tribe, Balthazar played by Academy Award® nominee Michael Clarke Duncan (The Green Mile), and an unlikely accomplice, the stage is set for the ultimate showdown.
It was rather interesting to watch Doom and The Rundown back-to-back (I’d just reviewed the single release of The Scorpion King last year, so no need to retread on that disc), as they were really entirely different films. I know what you’re saying, “No crap they’re different, one is a sci-fi and the other is a movie somewhat grounded in reality!” Yeah, I get all of that, but my point is that while they films are different stories, the roles The Rock plays in them are not all that different. Both are macho badasses that are in charge and really while that’s mostly all he plays, the recent roles he’s taken have at least bit a little bit more diverse.
I’d never seen Doom in its full unrated glory, but I was honestly surprised that it wasn’t really all that bad of a film. Sure it was corny, stupid and senseless, but it was a fair action flick that took my mind off of the pile of work I had to do for awhile at least. Plus it had the BFG in it, which was quite entertaining to see in action. Even the corny FPS sequences inspired by the game were a fun time to be had, so there’s plenty of fun to be had, though if you’re a fan of the series (I’m not; I’ve played them, but I was more of a Quake/Unreal Tournament guy myself) it’s probably a bit of a disgrace.
The Rundown was an entertaining ride as well; plenty of great little segments between Scott and The Rock that were humorous, but for the most part it’s a pretty generic flick. It’s also a bit confusing that it turns into an action-adventure Indiana Jones style flick halfway into it as well, but it was still entertaining. Nothing I’d watch again, mind you, but it was nice to finally see it from start to finish (previously I’d only seen it in intermittent bursts on TV).
And…The Scorpion King…well, you know how I feel about that one by now. It’s really one of my least favorite action movies ever made, as there is nothing about it I found to be redeemable. It was crap from start to finish and is something I never, ever want to see again. The fact I’ve been given this Blu-ray twice now is a bit of a low blow. I honestly lost complete interest in The Mummy series because of this film and the third film really helped no one involved…it was just a giant mess. Sure, The Scorpion King had some half-naked eye candy with Kelly Hu, but that’s not even enough to come back repeatedly on this one.
Overall this a rather weak collection of films; strictly speaking none of them are really all that good, but fans of The Rock will no doubt find something to enjoy in each of them regardless. I certainly admire Johnson for having a somewhat diverse career, although these early films of his really aren’t representative of the man he is now. Recommended for The Rock fans, Skippable for everyone else.
The Blu-ray
These three Blu-ray’s come in standard Elite Blu-ray cases, shrink wrapped back to back with a card board ring to hold them all together. Each of them include the standard inserts for Universal titles and menus each follow the standard Universal “blade” system.
The films themselves all share the VC-1 codec and quite frankly there isn’t a single one out of them that look bad. The bright and blown-out visuals of The Scorpion King look fantastic, while the deep and grain filled blacks of Doom are nice and rich. The Rundown’s jungle setting also pops on the screen, with lush plant life surrounding them in nearly every sequence. Together the three films represent a strong array of Blu-ray’s superiority in the video department and while not every frame of the films is reference worthy, there’s still plenty there to ooo and ahhh at.
The audio for each one of the films is a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. You have to love Universal, even their weakest films get the star treatment when it comes to audio formats and with a film like Doom, speaker direction and subwoofer output is part of what sells the film. Plenty of surround action to be had with the many guns being fired, while The Scorpion King also pops up throughout the room quite a few times as well. The Rundown’s action sequences are also immersive, but there’s a lot more talking in that film than there is in the other two, so expect a more front-channel focused mix on that one.
Extras are as follows:
Doom
BONUS FEATURES:
BD-LIVE™: Access the BD-Live™ Center through your Internet-connected player to get even more content, watch the latest trailers, and more!
MY SCENES: Pick your favorite scenes from the film to create your own video montage.
BASIC TRAINING: Join The Rock and cast for combat training with special military experts.
MASTER MONSTER MAKERS: Discover how the terrifying creatures came to life.
FIRST-PERSON SHOOTER SEQUENCE: Survive a longer version of this groundbreaking sequence, and then see how it was created.
DOOM NATION: Explore the global phenomenon of the world’s most addictive video game.
GAME ON!: Get strategies and tips on a beginner tour of the hit game.
The Rundown
BD-LIVE™: Access the BD-Live™ Center through your Internet-connected player to get even more content, watch the latest trailers, and more!
MY SCENES: Pick your favorite scenes from the film to create your own video montage.
Deleted scenes
• rumble in the jungle
•the amazon, hawaii style
•appetite foir destruction
•the rundown uncensored
•walken’s world
Feature commentary: With The Rock and Director Peter Berg.
Feature commentary: With Producers Kevin Misher and Marc Abraham.
The Scorpion King
U CONTROL: Universal’s exclusive signature feature, U Control puts viewers one click away from going deeper into the making of the film without ever leaving the movie.
PICTURE IN PICTURE: Access interactive cast and crew interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, all without interruption to the movie experience.
BD-LIVE™: Access the BD-Live™ Center through your Internet-connected player to get even more content, watch the latest trailers, and more!
MY SCENES: Pick your favorite scenes from the film to create your own video montage
FEATURE COMMENTARY: With Director Chuck Russell.
From what I can tell the extras from the previous DVD releases are all intact (I didn’t own the previous editions so I can only go by what online video stores say), sans The Scorpion King which is a bit neutered in the extras department, although I’m not complaining.
Overall solid releases of all three films—if they’re your cup of tea. I really wasn’t all that into any of them, so those who aren’t already big fans of The Rock will probably safely skip this release over. As with the films themselves, Recommended for The Rock fans, Skippable for everyone else.
The Rock Action 3-Pack arrives on Blu-ray on February 10th.