Back by popular demand comes the dynamic Campea/Nagy double feature review of the much anticipated “Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters”. As a side note going into this review… this was Doug’s #1 most anticipated movie of 2007.
Well we got to see the film a couple of times this weekend… so here we go:
JOHN’S THOUGHTS ON AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE
There aren’t a lot of films slated for 2007 that I’ve been looking forward to more than Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters. While the show is sometimes hit and miss, few programs can make me laugh my guts out as much as Aqua Teen does when it’s on its game. In my opinion, the Mooninites and Carl are a couple of the best characters on TV right now.
So off we go to see the movie and once again, like another movie I was totally pumped about seeing (Grindhouse) I was a little let down. Does it have really funny parts? Yup! Does it have enough? Nope.
Ok, first things first… the movie starts with a little tribute to the old drive in theater animations. You know the ones I’m talking about… the ones where a dancing bag of popcorn and hot dog sing to you about grabbing a snack at the concession stand and enjoying the movie. Yeah, well they do one of these at the opening… and it is some of the funniest stuff I’ve seen on the screen this year. It’s only about a minute or so long… but it was BY FAR the funniest part of the film. AMAZING. I think all movies this year should open up with this clip.
The movie then begins. There is a lose story line about a piece of exercise equipment that is the key to the destruction of mankind as we know it. But the story isn’t really followed that much, is changed a hundred times along the way, and by the end was totally inconsequential to the movie itself. The Aqua Teen Hunger Force show never sticks to a solid story and plot outline… but it usually at least GENERALLY sticks to the idea of the episode… that didn’t happen here.
There are a couple of REALLY FUNNY moments in the movie that had me nearly spitting my pop out of my mouth for sure. But the problem was that there wasn’t enough. I said to one of the people who saw it with me “It had just as many hilarious moments as one of the funniest episodes… but this was a full length movie and that’s just not enough”.
The biggest problem with this movie is it’s use of side characters. THERE WAS NO WHERE NEAR ENOUGH USE OF CARL OR THE MOONINITES. Carl is practically the 4th member of the Aqua Teens, and the Mooninites rule. They were both in the movie… but hardly used at all. On the other hands the stupid alien frat boys are used WAY too much as is the robotic ghost of Christmas past. Weaker characters on the show who got 3x the amount of screen time Carl and our Mooninites overlords got.
And this is a warning to anyone thinking about seeing this movie who doesn’t already watch the Aqua Teen Hunger Force show. DON’T BOTHER! You won’t understand a single thing that’s going on. This movie was clearly made for people who are already fans of the show. Period. We watched this movie with a couple of people who had never seen the tv show, and they didn’t know what the hell was going on… and I can’t blame them.
Over all, I’m glad I saw this movie, it has some GREAT laughs and some pretty outrageous stuff (Like Neil Peart of Rush playing a Drum Solo of Life… hilarious), but as a whole I was hoping for… and needing… more. It felt like the movie was made over a weekend and rushed a bit. More laughs, more mooninites, more Carl, and at least some little sense of a story line would have made this a lot better. But it’s NOT a “BAD” movie… just not the movie I was hoping for. I give Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters a 5.5/10 If you’re a Aqua Teen fan… GO… if not already a fan… NO.
DOUG’S THOUGHTS ON AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE
Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Movie Film For Theaters became my most anticipated movie of the year. I was dying to see it, and lucky enough to be in the U.S.A to do so. It started like a battering ram with a segment that had everyone laughing hysterically. I was overjoyed and was loving the film right out of the gates!
This film is absurd. This movie is just as absurd as their most absurd episodes, if not more. Which is fine by me, I love it and find this show does it better than anyone. The stuff that is funny in this film is absolutely hilarious and will cause even those that dislike absurdity to enjoy themselves …or maybe not.
I was hoping the film itself would have more structure than the episodes due to the length of the movie, it didn’t – not even close. Which was fine, till about halfway through where it started to DRAG for me – mostly due to Oglethorpe and Emory, I am not a fan of these characters and they are in the film more than Carl.
Aqua Teen gets its magic from Character interactions, and when you have 2 characters that don’t “bring it” like others do – give them less screen time. The film would of been better if it just focused on the four usual suspects, rather than try to fit in everyone from the library.
I also thought the envelope would of been pushed way more. After the hand banana episode that made light of rape – I thought the movie would be chock full of assaults on decency. Other than unedited profanity, it was par for the course when compared to an episode. To be honest I am surprised it had an R rating at all.
Problems aside I did really enjoy this movie. It did not blow me away, as I had hoped but I will purchase the dvd and recommend it to everyone. I would still give this movie a 7/10 and a GO because it did make me laugh my ass off and I cannot stress how good the beginning of this film is. To end my review I will leave you with my favorite quote from the film. “feel the sweet embrace, of satan’s hoof against your face!”
