Last week saw the release of a movie from one the more popular MGM franchises - The Pink Panther 2 - released on Blu-ray Disc June 23rd, 2009.

The movie features a great international cast, including Steve Martin, Jean Reno, Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, Aishwarya Rai, John Cleese, Lily Tomlin, Jeremy Irons, Johnny Hallyday and Geoffrey Palmer.

Steve Martin brings his own style to the role of Inspector Clouseau, and the movie contains a lot of slapstick, physical humour.

While the cast and the locations are great, if slapstick isn’t your thing, this is not the movie for you.

Perhaps needless to say, overall it is a very silly film. Very silly indeed.

Like its predecessors, this edition is yet again the story of the Pink Panther diamond and Inspector Clouseau’s bumbling efforts to protect it from expert thieves.

This time around the thief has been stealing treasures from all over Europe and a dream team of detectives is formed to help solve the crime - headed by Clouseau himself.

The Pink Panther 2 was directed by Harald Zwart, the man behind One Night at McCool’s and Agent Cody Banks.

The critical response to the movie was pretty damning - it earned a Rotten Tomatoes score of 12% and IMDb score of 4.8/10.

The Pink Panther 2 was however a mild success at the cinema, reaching $35.9M at the US box office.

The video on the disc is an AVC 1080p encode at 34 Mbps, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1.

Check out the details page for The Pink Panther 2 to see full resolution PNG screen captures taken directly from the disc.

The main audio is lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1 channels - 24 bits resolution at 48 kHz.

The disc is a dual layer BD50, with 36.6 GB used and is coded for Region A.

Special features are a tidy set and include a Digital Copy for both Windows and iTunes.

Bloopers are presented in the gag reel and a behind the scenes featurette reveals a lot about the stunts and such needed to pull this style of movie off successfully.

An additional featurette focuses on the casting for the movie and the international talent that ranges from Bollywood to France, England and Japan.

There is also a BD-Java based trivia game included on the disc.

The inclusion of 27 of the original Pink Panther cartoons is an especially nice touch - though these are presented on standard DVD, not in HiDef.

The Pink Panther 2 is technically a great release from MGM Home Entertainment - that said this style of comedy is not for everyone.

However if you are a fan of slapstick humour or can’t get enough Pink Panther, this disc is a great choice for you.

The retail price is $39.99, or order it right now at Amazon for $26.99, saving 33%!

Extras:

• Gag Reel
• Drama Is Easy…Comedy Is Dangerous Featurette
• A Dream Team Like No Other Featurette
• Trivia Game: Master Thief - Golbal Crime Showdown!
• 27 Classic Pink Panther Cartoons (DVD)
• Digital Copy for iTunes and Windows

Synopsis:

Steve Martin returns to the scene of the fun as the brilliant, bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau in this side-splitting slapstick comedy for the whole family! When legendary treasures from around the world are stolen, including the priceless Pink Panther diamond, Clouseau is assigned to a dream team of international detectives who are under pressure to bring the master thief to justice before he strikes again. Co-starring Jean Reno, Alfred Molina, Andy Garcia, Lily Tomlin and John Cleese, The Pink Panther 2 will steal your heart…and keep you laughing!

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