Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		2.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

My Science Project Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 22, 2016

Welp, they did it. They've officially made a movie about everything. Love, action, romantic tearjerker, mob movie, inspirational sports film, war picture, and skinemax flicks are all old news. Now, behold, the movie built around one of those plasma balls that everyone used to play with at Spencer's in the mall. Yeah, those globes that emit an electric current inside that moves with the touch of a hand: they have their own movie. One of them stars in My Science Project, a rather pedestrian but, in its own way, mildly entertaining 80 Sci-Fi/Comedy flick about one such globe that's thought to be an alien device but that is actually an off-the-shelf Spencer's product. Well, OK, it's partially in disguise with a bulky casing tacked on to make it look all alien-ish and Sci-Fi-ish, but it's rather poor camouflage. Or maybe they got it from the Spencer's on whatever planet Mac from Mac & Me calls home. Regardless, it's the star, and it causes a lot of trouble for a few high schoolers who might be failing science but who are about to get a crash course in survival 101 in this mashup that's sort of like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure meets Masters of the Universe, except slower, not as cool, and nowhere near as memorable. But it's kinda fun in its own dopey, slow-paced way.

Thank you for shopping at Spencer's.

In the 1950s, something crash-lands in the desert. The Air Force is quick to collect it and keep it under wraps. Fast-forward a few decades to the 1980s. The base is long since abandoned but the area nearby is thriving. It's home to Garson High School where science teacher Bob Roberts (Dennis Hopper) is quizzing his students on what they'll be doing for their science projects. Michael Harlan (John Stockwell) has no idea. He's a budding mechanic and loves all things cars. Neither school nor science are really his things. But he needs to pass. He enlists the help of classmate Ellie Sawyer (Danielle von Zerneck) and the two trek on out to the abandoned base in search of something, anything, Michael can use for his project. He finds more than he bargained for when he unboxes and activates a mysterious alien orb that could earn him the grade he needs…so long as it doesn't destroy everything around him first.

My Science Project makes for an enjoyable diversion but little more. The film is almost painfully slow to develop and characters are by-and-large forgettable and replaceable, none of them exuding any sort of iconic charisma or given the proper material to truly shine. The plot shows some creativity but there's not a lot of wiggle room, not enough drive, budget, or know-how to really make it leap off the screen in any memorable way. The movie has a paint-by-numbers feel to it, a risk-averse construction that makes it entertainingly simple but hardly a benchmark film. That's OK. Not everything can be Back to the Future, a once-in-a-generation genre standard-bearer. My Science Project fills a niche of harmless Sci-Fi/teenage entertainment. If it's anything it's playful and content to go with the flow, refusing to allow its modesty and simplicity to prevent it, and the audience, from having fun along the way.

My Science Project Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

My Science Project holds up fairly well on Blu-ray. Mill Creek's presentation retains the movie's original aspect ratio, yields well defined details, and presents a healthy enough color palette. Michael's red muscle car is the color highlight, popping off the screen with a good, deep, vibrant shade that contrasts nicely against the world around it. Clothing is suitably cheery and flesh tones retain positive neutrality. The alien ball (or Spencer's toy) presents with good bounce and vibrance to the purple and blue electricity that flows through it. Black levels are a little challenged, pushing a bit bright, particularly around the edges, and struggle with sloppy, chunky grain. Grain is otherwise rather even and pleasant, accentuating the movie's texturing and retaining a positive film-like appearance. Details are largely robust. Skin and clothes find good, not great, overall texturing at even the more intimate levels. Several shots are noticeably softer than others, but on the whole this is a nice step up from older home video iterations. Fans should be pleased.

My Science Project Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

My Science Project receives a failing score for audio. Featuring Mill Creek's standard-issue Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack, the presentation disappoints along every step of the way. Dialogue is ever shallow, pushed to the center but yielding only audible spoken words, not any sort of lifelike definition. Supportive details struggle to find definition or authority. Music is shallow, pushing heavy to the middle with not tangible breathing room or spread along those front two channels. A few bursts of gunfire in the third act don't challenge the sound system by any stretch, and various supportive sound effects are muddled and lacking clarity. The track is serviceable at its very best. Fans will be disappointed.

My Science Project Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of My Science Project contains no supplemental content. No pop-up menu is included. The top menu offers only a "play movie" option.

My Science Project Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

My Science Project lacks the vitality and charm of some of its peers, but it's a serviceable bit of entertainment that could stand a tightened script, better editing, and more engaging and iconic characters. As it is, the movie is a bit slow and lacking any sort of seriously memorable content or heavy re-watchability. In 2016, it works well enough as a pleasant blast-from-the-past diversion, but a double feature of Bill & Ted and Masters of the Universe would, for this reviewer, anyway, always prove more rewarding. Mill Creek's featureless Blu-ray delivers cruddy sound and good video. It's cheap, so pick it up for a nostalgic trip.