6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 2.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
The Space Shuttle returns to earth, but some of the equipment brought back on it begins to behave strangely. Scientists are unsure what is happening, and decide to take all necessary precautions.
Starring: Walter Koenig, Bruce Campbell, Leigh Lombardi, Robert Kurcz, John J. SaundersHorror | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 1.0 | |
Audio | 1.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
It's been almost a decade since Blu-ray made its debut, but it has just now officially arrived with the release of Moontrap, perhaps the poster child for obscure genre cinema. It's a film some may remember playing late-nights on HBO waaaaay back in the day, or maybe on a cruddy old six-hour VHS tape sandwiched between recordings of The Package and Short Time (talk about a movie that needs a release). Olive Films has released the old favorite, no doubt unseen by many fans with fond memories for some years now, onto Blu-ray with a remastered transfer. The bad news is that despite the "remastered" billing the movie looks (and sounds) bad. The good news is that, other than its widescreen formatting, it looks pretty much like it did on that well-loved VHS tape from decades past. Score one for nostalgia. Make that two points, because this Blu-ray release of Moontrap needs all the loving it can get.
"Guns on the moon."
No two ways about it: Moontrap looks terrible on Blu-ray, at times dipping down to VHS level of terrible. First, the good. There's a picture, it's in color, and it's formatted at 1.78:1 rather than 4x3. Now, on to the bad. The first thing viewers will likely notice is the opening title wobble and the accompanying pale black levels, the latter of which lurks for the entire movie and occasionally pushes to a shade of red, green, or purple. In one early shot featuring the space shuttle set against the blackness of space, where part of the wing is shadowed, the wing literally disappears, leaving its tip floating in space by itself, evidence of crush even under these conditions. The early cockpit interior shots range from bad to miserable. Definition falls to almost zero in some shots where smeary details, pasty and lifeless faces, and flat uniforms and instrument clusters are the norm. Even rough textures seen later in the movie -- the football-like alien pod, the dusty lunar surface, and robotics -- appear terribly flat and devoid of all but the most basic textures. Colors fare slightly -- slightly -- better. The light blue NASA uniforms and the red, white, and blue American flag seen on the moon look good enough but lack that nuance, that vibrance one would associate with a better film-quality image. Blockiness and banding are frequent unwanted guests, and evidence of noise reduction abounds. At its best, Moontrap's Blu-ray might be mistaken for a DVD. Fans, and the movie, deserve better in high definition.
Moontrap's DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack fares almost no better than the crummy picture quality. There's almost zero range; the material plays cramped up around the middle and fails to ignite the aural senses with a more dynamic front stage. Clarity is muddy at best, lacking nuance in every occurrence. Music is cramped and poorly defined throughout the garbled range, whether orchestral score or synth beats. Most any sort of action sound effects lack punch or authority, discounting the deliberately silent gunshots on the moon. Crashing glass, for example, barely registers. Gunfire is wimpy and poorly defined. Explosions and other rumbles are little more than a muddled glob of low-volume sound. Dialogue is fortunately intelligible but lacks clarity and natural accuracy. Overall, this is a major disappointment of a soundtrack from Olive Films.
Moontrap contains two interviews and an audio commentary track.
Moontrap is a welcome addition to the Blu-ray family, a somewhat obscure little old title from back in time that hasn't aged well but still plays with a fun, carefree cadence. Unfortunately, its visuals haven't aged well, either, at least in terms of the transfer Olive Films has plopped onto the Blu-ray. It's borderline VHS territory in places, and at its it best it might pass for a poor quality DVD. Audio is almost no better. Fortunately, fans have something to enjoy in the the way of a new audio commentary track and a pair of talent interviews that run almost an hour together. This release comes cautiously recommended to anyone looking for a little nostalgia, but buyers are encouraged to wait until the price drops to bargain territory, a price better befitting the presentation's bargain quality.
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