review: ROCK 'N ROLL SPACE PATROL

Troma Studios  //  Buy from Amazon.com The Planetary Outposts in Space Sector 219A have one by one fallen prey to a baffling infection. Inhabitants have given up their scientific and knowledge gathering initiatives and have instead resorted to mindless rampant consumerism & corporatised servitude culminating in the terrible and mega-ultra-destructive "Mighters March". Super Silver Base Alpha has sent their top space agent, Bronco Cedar, to investigate the latest outbreak on Outpost 11. Now he's gone missing, so as a last resort they've sent Buck Fiesta, their B-list agent with an itchy trigger finger and a chronic case of sarcasim, to sort things out. Along the way he'll enlist help from Zen master teleporter, The Red Arrow, obtain vital information from Agent Unknown, and confront an army of Temporal Ninjas led by the sassy evil mastermind of icebox fusion, Dr. Spider Jones. It will take 2 times the action, 2 times the special effects, and 2 times the rock 'n' roll to win the day. Whoo-eeee - when this one showed up in the mail for review, I was not expecting to be overly impressed. Take a look at the title of the film, the box cover, and the storyline - add to this the fact that it's a no-budget digital video creation, and it'd be a safe bet to have next to no expectations for this one. Thankfully, those low expectations going in only add to this hilarious, campy and thoroughly-enjoyable flick! No budget? Sure. No-talent acting? Absolutely. But throw in some surprisingly good special effects, filmmakers who obviously love what they're doing and do it just for the fun of it, and you get a b-movie that will keep you chuckling and guffawing from start to finish. Terrible in a good way, enjoyable in its entirety - go get this one, you won't be disappointed. Video Surpringly, the 1.85:1 picture is quite strong and clean. For a low-budget, DV-shot film, you could safely assume that your expectations should be low, but as it turns out, the picture quality is clear and clean throughout. In fact, more than once I commented (in surprise) how solid it looked! Audio Dolby stereo mix is it fine-form - solid company to the solid picture quality. Extras introduction from Lloyd Kaufman 2 audio commentaries "Weiner, Cosmos, Plastic" short film (sequel) outtakes trailers easter egg bloopers "Hick Trek 2: The Next Aggravation" short film Closing Thoughts Crazy-good indie sci-fi fare + loads of Tromatic extras = must-have DVD for any self-respecting b-movie lover!! :: This review originally appeared on CalgaryMovies.com ::