DanTheMan 2
Space Mutiny wants to be Battlestar Galactica so badly, licensing model shots created by the legendary John Dykstra for the series and even following precisely the same plot, right down to the will they/won't they romance between the useless daughter of the benevolent leader and a childlike hotshot pilot. A seemingly endless stream of production issues plagues Space Mutiny, from the shooting location being a very obvious warehouse, sets that look like they are ready to fall apart at any moment, unrelated subplots, music that sounds like it comes from a cut-price Sega CD game (although I do like actually like it somewhat), a script that feels like the result of a drunken afternoon, glaring editing mistakes, missing visual effects and a change of director after the death of David Winters's father on the first day of shooting, meaning that Neal Sundstrom ended up taking over as director for the shoot.
The cast of talents is assembled from the usual over-the-top ham, hapless locals and unfortunately relatives, it's all a veritable mixed bag of performances from the flat and dull to the hilariously misguided. Seeing an undubbed and sober Cameron Mitchell is certainly a shock, especially in his post-1960s career, then there's John Phillip Law, playing the gloriously cheesy and superbly villainous Kalgan delivering some outstanding cackling and sneering, although he seemingly forgot to impose any family members on the film's production unlike the rest of the main stars.
Despite my criticisms, I can forgive a lot of Space Mutiny's faults. It's a genuinely fun time and a perfect example of how not to make a Sci-Fi movie on a budget, but given that after shooting had wrapped, David Winters contracted endocarditis and ended up supervising the edit from his apparent death-bed, means I can't be too harsh on something he knew was doomed from the moment he laid eyes on it. He ultimately recovered, but the obituaries would have been quite something: "starred in West Side Story, taught Elvis Presley to dance and died editing Space Mutiny".
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
03/06/24
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Audience Member
"Get out of the way you idiot". Was like watching Starwars meets Battlestar Galactica!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/24/23
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Audience Member
Never have I laughed more frequently at a bad movie. Enjoyable as an episode of MST3K, but just as enjoyable on its own.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/26/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Space Mutiny: 3 out of 10: An all-white group of Space Nazi's fight against a rebellion from within their ranks while taking time out for romance and Disco. Oh, and Stevie Nicks and friends stop by to give free lap dances to Santa. This is considered the source of one of the best MST3k episodes. It's not hard to see why.
The Good: It is the source of one of the best MST3k episodes and honestly is hilariously funny on its own. Not on purpose mind you.
The Bad: I am going to go with everything here. I mean really the list of things Space Mutiny does wrong is practically endless.
The Ugly: This was filmed in South Africa at the height of apartheid which gives a little edge to will our people survive when said by a big blonde guy wearing a white SS uniform.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: Season 9 Episode 20: Space Mutiny: 10 out of 10; When people make lists of the best MST3K episodes Space Mutiny is often is in the top five (keep in mind this is out of an astounding 197 episodes). Even more impressive Space Mutiny is often given as the perfect starter episode to get people to watch MSt3k as it is remarkably accessible and honesty, as stated above, funny even without the riffs.
The Good: Like the list of the bad above in the original movie review there are too many to list. Some highlights include a hilarious golf cart chases complete with surprisingly girlie screams. A dead woman who is resurrected in the next scene due to poor editing/continuity and a lead actress who do to bad lighting, bad makeup, or the fact she is secretly fifty looks a little long in the tooth for our lead Mr. Buck McGuffin. Oh yeah, our boys come up for some names for our lead actor... about fifty or so... and unlike the "are you ready for some football" from Laserblast it doesn't get old.
The host segments are also decent but let's be blunt they are overshadowed by this masterwork. I mean the captain looks like Santa Claus, pimps out his daughter to anyone who manages to land on his spacecraft and gets mystical lap dances from Stevie Nicks in a Hot Topic store.
The Bad: You know for how glorious the riffing was on this one I hate to say it but our boys left some big ones on the table. For one thing, all the space footage is from Battlestar Galactica. Not in a hidden way but in hey that is Battlestar Galactica kind of way. Second off all the good guys are wearing Nazi uniforms. I mean how can you just not say anything?
The Ugly: Unfortunately the boys didn't find out that this was a South African production till after the episode was finished. I think that some well-placed riffs would have happened had they known. At the very least they wouldn't have blamed Canada.
In Conclusion: As of this review, the uncut full-length version of Space Mutiny is available on Amazon Prime. Compared to the MST3K version it is well longer of course and believe it or not even sillier with some very brief nudity, The MST3K version, however, will definitely give you the gist and the edits may make the underlying film seem better than it really is.
When I originally saw this episode I gave both the riffing and the underlying movie lower scores. I have to admit with repeated viewing it really has grown on me. The underlying movie has a "Room" quality as they drive around an industrial warehouse in golf carts pretending to be space warriors. The riffing is both spot on and a victim an embarrassment of riches. I have watched it multiple times and still laugh out load and new stuff. A great movie to watch with friends whether they are fans of such nonsense or not.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
01/13/23
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Audience Member
On its own merits, this movie is so hilariously and absurdly bad that there are no words to describe it. From the super thin plot, to the clearly stolen (from Battlestar Galactica) special effects, to the actors that clearly have no idea how to act, this move has absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever............except for one. This is one of my favorite episodes to watch on Mystery Science Theater 3000. Watching the movie in that context actually makes this movie very enjoyable, and for that (meaning MST3K's treatment of this movie) I will give it 3 stars.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/23/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The new MST3K Netflix original has been released and I decided to expose myself to some of the old episodes available for streaming on Hulu and Netflix (there is a different random selection on each platform). Whether it is Joel or Mike watching these awful movies with the bots I do not envy the torture they are put through. Their snarky comments add some entertainment value, but my ratings are based on the movie's quality itself and not the extra material broadcast from the satellite of love. The worst elements of 1980s style, effects, and cheesiness are present. The things that some people ironically celebrate about the decade. I could not stomach it. I had to skip through most of this garbage.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
02/01/23
Full Review
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