Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie

Introduction

Once upon a time there was a cult TV series called Mystery Science Theater 3000, then one day the makers of afore mentioned TV series decided to do a film version and lo, it was called Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie.  The premise is quite simple really...

Dr Clayton Forrester, a mad scientist, has a plan for world domination that consists of subjecting the human race to the worst films ever made.  As with all plans though, it needs a test phase and a suitable test subject is found in pilot and ordinary man Mike Nelson.  Nelson is stranded in space aboard a orbiting space station with two robotic companions, the rather sarcastic Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot - plus another couple of minor robots that are more loopy than anything else.

During this particular test, the evil Dr Forrester will subject Nelson to the most diabolical b-movie ever made, This Island Earth from 1955.  Will Nelson and his robotic companions emerge from the screening still sane or will Forrester's plan become reality with Earth the next victims?

Picture

The picture looks to have been remastered as it looks sharp and detailed on the blu-ray media.  There is some artefact damage but this appears to be on the B-Movie print rather than the film itself, and even the B-Movie picture looks pretty great really.

Extras

Trailer

Making Of - the original featurette for this film rather than a modern retrospective, the quality of picture is not as great on this but does the job.

Stills Gallery - for those who love flicking between still pictures of things you've seen already.

Overall

The premise of Mystery Science Theater 3000 is quite a simple one really.  Put on an old film, sit in front of it and take the p*** out of it all the way through.  I guess it's just an extension of friends having a film night and not taking it very seriously.  I've done it myself, but not as consistently funny.

There are some minor and short sequences that essentially show you the MST3K characters in their home setting but the rest of the film is the b-movie front and centre with silhouettes of Nelson and his compatriots sitting at the end of a row of cinema seats.

I'm not actually sure if there is an actual script or if the whole thing is done freestyle as some of the jokes don't work as well but as a whole the film is extremely funny, even if the premise that This Island Earth isn't as bad as hinted at.  The main film isn't bad considering it was made in 1955 but the script and production design is ripe for a mickey take.

You'll either love this or hate it, I don't think they'll be any in between and whilst I am more than likely to watch this again, I suspect it won't stand repeat viewing for a lot of people. I'd love to see the entire series on blu-ray though…