Mystery Science Theatre 3000 or MST3K as it has been thankfully abbreviated to is an interesting concept, one that this reviewer will tell you is not essentially a film but rather a wisecrack heavy commentary by two robots and a man trapped in space against their own free will.
Originally starting life as a television show in the late 80s, the show soon became rather popular and ran for an impressive 11 years following a similar premise to the movie. Unlike most transfers from television to cinema, MST3K doesn’t really set it up for a new audience, mainly because considering how simplistic the story behind it is there isn’t really any need. A human by the name of Mike is being held captive by the evil Dr. Clayton Forrester aboard the satellite of love with only a handful of robots for company. In order to break their, wills Dr. Forrester shows them an awful B-movie by the name of This Island Earth and the film then plays out as a commentary with Mike and the robots, Tom Servo and Crow T. Bot, wise-cracking and generally mocking the awful film they’re watching.
For someone who has never watched the series itself which will be most people in the UK the film may come off as a little childish. The humour is pretty bad throughout, similar to what a group of mates would most probably do watching a bunch of bad movies. Wisecracking at the clunky acting or shoddy special effects, Mike and his robots chums heckle the film throughout, pointing out the plot holes and problems with it as a means of survival, of which This Island Earth has a plenty!
Unlike the original series, the film actually plays out shorter and the humour itself isn’t as quick witted, as most msties (MST3K fans) point out, so it is intriguing why the idea of a feature film was put forward in the first place. It seems as if it may have been an attempt to try and fill a gap between seasons and a chance for real msties to see it on the big screen as new comers to the world of Mike and his robot buddies would have most probably avoided this.
Despite this, MST3K is rather enjoyable. You have to smile at how clunky and homemade everything looks within it, many of the robots look like they’re made out of household appliances, also the concept itself is something B movie fans can really get into, many people watch B movies to take a stab at how awful and poor they are and with MST3K you now have a bunch of wisecracking buddies to do it with, you can’t help fall for its charm.
The Blu-ray release is somewhat barebones, only having a handful of extras and not really bringing anything to grab the attention of previous or new fans.
Overall Verdict: Not for everyone, MST3K is perfect late night viewing, although I would recommend going back to the show rather than watching the movie first, as it is definitely the weaker of the two.
Special Features:
Featurette
Stills Gallery
Trailer
Reviewer: Gareth Haworth