Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Greg S

  
  From the cult TV series, a man and his two robots trapped in space mock one of the worst movies ever made--only in the one-off feature version the film is THIS ISLAND EARTH, a colorful sci-fi film that isn't close to the laughable fare the show usually covered. The feature film… More
  From the cult TV series, a man and his two robots trapped in space mock one of the worst movies ever made--only in the one-off feature version the film is THIS ISLAND EARTH, a colorful sci-fi film that isn't close to the laughable fare the show usually covered. The feature film offers very few extras for fans, won't covert anyone new to the cause, and would have been considered an average to below average episode if it had aired on TV.

• Lewis C

  
  I love Mystery Science Theater, but the movie version does not compare well with the television series. This Island Earth just doesn't offer many opportunities for humor (except for the absurd insect mutants that are supposedly similar to the insects here on earth). I can't… More
  I love Mystery Science Theater, but the movie version does not compare well with the television series. This Island Earth just doesn't offer many opportunities for humor (except for the absurd insect mutants that are supposedly similar to the insects here on earth). I can't imagine even the most hardcore MST3K fans enjoying this very much.

• David S

  
  My first exposure to the MST franchise, I had to watch it a second time around to get it better (first time was at night on tv when I was half-asleep) and I'm glad I decided to give it a second chance when I taped it. I had myself in stitches while watching this, I really did.… More
  My first exposure to the MST franchise, I had to watch it a second time around to get it better (first time was at night on tv when I was half-asleep) and I'm glad I decided to give it a second chance when I taped it. I had myself in stitches while watching this, I really did. Taking a below average film and subjecting it to ridicule was, at that point, the most original thing I had ever seen or heard and these guys made it seem so easy. Naturally, after watching episodes of the show, I see things in the movie that could have been improved (like adding the theme song, which is now my favorite theme song to any show ever made) but considering what they had to work with and what came out, I'd say it's a great result regardless. Despite what some call "dumbed down" commentary, there are still good laughs to be had by all. Recurring jokes such as "The Amazing Rando" and frequent outbursts of "I'm not an alien!" are always amusing. And the host segments are great, as they all relate to their plight of being stuck in space. If science ever gets around to building robots that aren't glorified slaves, Crow and Servo should be on the top of their to-build lists. I know I want a pair of wisecracking robot buddies like those two

• David L

  
  If you, the viewer, are not familiar with Mystery Science Theater 3000, better known as MST3K, I recommend that you rent/buy/borrow, beg, or steal tapes and dvds to become a tad familiar with the concept. The concept is: riffing a B-or-worse-scifi-movie; the victim, er-- subject,… More
  If you, the viewer, are not familiar with Mystery Science Theater 3000, better known as MST3K, I recommend that you rent/buy/borrow, beg, or steal tapes and dvds to become a tad familiar with the concept. The concept is: riffing a B-or-worse-scifi-movie; the victim, er-- subject, in this case, is "This Island Earth", a classic from the 50's. There's this guy (Mike) who's been shot up to an orbiting space station (the Satellite of Love, or SOL) by a Mad Scientist (Dr. Clayton Forrester). Mike is a replacement test subject (Joel, who made the robots for companionship, escaped), and he and Joel's 'bots (short for ro-bots) ease the stress of being test subjects by making wise@$$ remarks while the movie is running. Then there are little interval segments that attempt to tell a coherent narrative. The catch is that the bots are actually only puppets made from a gumball machine head, salad bowl, Tupperware interlocking set of flower vases, and armatures from folding adjustable desk lamps. The original actor who voices Crow T. Robot is Trace Beaulieu, who also plays Dr. Forrester . The guy who voices Tom Servo is Kevin Murphy-- well, if you really want to see him, you'll have to find the episodes on tape and go looking for his appearances as other characters. This movie is just as good as the episodes that have appeared either on Comedy Central or the Sci-Fi Channel, but this time Best Brains, the production company, had more money to make better sets, props, and better staging of gags. The Hubble was great, as was the amusing and embarrassing segment where Dr. Forrester ends up in the Metalunan guy's shower. [aaagghhh!!!] MST3K: The Movie was what I hoped at the time to be the first in a long line of franchise movies. Too bad that didn't happen but we still have this movie and the episodes of the series to enjoy

• Lafe F

  
  It's not my brand of humour. Their commentary during bad B-films I didn't quite find funny. It was hard watching some of the movies they showed.

• Cindy I

  
  Hilarious! If you're a fan of the show this is a must-see. And see it even if you're not. A little bit racier than TV, as they could get away with more, but not too out there. I liked the idea that they used a film -- The Quiet Earth -- that people would want to see anyway.… More
  Hilarious! If you're a fan of the show this is a must-see. And see it even if you're not. A little bit racier than TV, as they could get away with more, but not too out there. I liked the idea that they used a film -- The Quiet Earth -- that people would want to see anyway. It was still ripped, but not in a hateful way.

• Drew S

  
  I love MST3k to death, but this is sadly not one of their better efforts. It's just another episode with some plot elements (which are not the strong points of the series) strung along. No one watches MST3k for the skits - they should have concentrated harder on the riffing.… More
  I love MST3k to death, but this is sadly not one of their better efforts. It's just another episode with some plot elements (which are not the strong points of the series) strung along. No one watches MST3k for the skits - they should have concentrated harder on the riffing. Still, you can't hate it.

• Steve B

  
  Disappointing theatrical release of the cult TV show. How is the show 90 minutes long (without ads), and the MOVIE only runs like 74 minutes?

• Burger S

  
  I like Joel better. He stepped behind the scenes by this time. He is back doing a Broadway show these days that I would enjoy seeing.

• Juan C

  
  This is what I was talking about, comedy, silliness, intelligence, making fun of with a dash of innocence on the side! The jokes are clever and really hysterical, the story is like an bit like an extended episode, which is why it's so good, and it's just non stop fun and I… More
  This is what I was talking about, comedy, silliness, intelligence, making fun of with a dash of innocence on the side! The jokes are clever and really hysterical, the story is like an bit like an extended episode, which is why it's so good, and it's just non stop fun and I really had a time of my life watching this! This is a definate must see! A+

• Alec B

  
  It's simply just an extended episode, and there is nothing wrong with that.

• William G

  
  Not as good as some eps, but rather amusing nonetheless.

• Sarah P

  
  Of course, I liked it, but it was pretty much the same as the show. There's no real reason to make it in movie-form.

• MJS M

  
  MST3K is a show I?ve come across on a number of occasions. I was never a huge fan of the T.V. series, but I always thought it was? cute. It had a fun DIY aesthetic and it was also an opportunity to watch some really bad movies in a presentation which made them tolerable. I?ve… More
  MST3K is a show I?ve come across on a number of occasions. I was never a huge fan of the T.V. series, but I always thought it was? cute. It had a fun DIY aesthetic and it was also an opportunity to watch some really bad movies in a presentation which made them tolerable. I?ve always thought it was helpful to get a glimpse of just how bad cinema can get, it helps to put the average Hollywood bomb into perspective. I?ve always been impressed by how good the producers are at finding so many truly incompetent films. The movies they dig up are awful on Ed Wood proportions. However, as cute as I find the show, the standards of a feature film and free television show are very different things. I?m frankly rather perplexed as to why this thing exists. T.V. shows get adapted to movies for a number of reasons, some want to expand a story to a feature length, some want to work without censorship, some want to work on a bigger budget, and some just want a reunion after the show?s been on for a while. In this case, the 73 minute movie is actually shorter than an average two hour episode (90 minutes without ads), so it wasn?t a running time issue. The budget doesn?t look any bigger than the show and they don?t really stretch the censorship boundaries much. Also the movie was made right in the middle of the shows run, so it wasn?t like the viewers were lacking recent MST3K material. Simply put, there?s nothing in the movie that audiences couldn?t have gotten for free on the show, it seems like kind of a rip-off, and given the higher standards of a feature film the shows flaws stand out a lot more. Firstly, Mike Nelson isn?t much of an actor. He can make wisecracks with the best of them, but in the framing narrative his work falls flat. When this was a throw away series this didn?t matter much, but again, when you?re charging people money for something the standards are different. The framing story seems particularly uninspired here; it?s been a very long time since I watched the show, but I remember liking this filler a lot more, here it just seems like a waste. The actual ?make fun of a movie? section fare a bit better. The movie they?re riffing ?This Island Earth,? really seems a little better than most of the crap they make fun of; it feels a little more dated than incompetent. There?s a very funny moment early on in the movie where a science experiment goes wrong, and the commentators compare it to a waffle burning. That bit had me cracking up, but it was kind of downhill from there. Basically, making this a feature film is kind of a rip-off.

• Nate H

  
  Marginally funny, a few of the more clever comments managed to make me laugh out loud, but it doesn't compare in laughs per minute or laugh magnitude to a traditional, capable comedy. The non-commentary bits are painfully extraneous, but at least when the jokes lull you can amuse… More
  Marginally funny, a few of the more clever comments managed to make me laugh out loud, but it doesn't compare in laughs per minute or laugh magnitude to a traditional, capable comedy. The non-commentary bits are painfully extraneous, but at least when the jokes lull you can amuse yourself by watching the decent movie that serves as the backdrop.

• Quinto W

  
  I love the show and the commentaries during the film are hilarous, but I've just always had a hard time with Mike Nelson, so the scenes in the spaceship dragged the fun down for me.

• Chad R

  
  This stuff is still funny.

• Anthony V

  
  Milk through the nose funny.

Read all 18 featured audience ratings