Aqua Teen Forever: Phantasm - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Aqua Teen Forever: Phantasm



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Aqua Teen Hunger Force was one of those shows that I remember watching a lot during my college years while sipping on wine coolers (we were young and stupid) and some “herbal” supplements. It was one of those shows that REALLY was better while toasted out of your mind and while it isn’t necessary, just made the whole experience funnier. I sort of fell away when the Aqua Teen spin off seasons started along with the movie, but binge watched the remainder of the show back during Covid (and luckily revisited them with the DVD set). I was surprised to see a new movie coming out after several years off the air, but figured “why not? I’ll give it a spin”. Luckily for fans it’s more of the same, but also comes with the realization that…..well...it’s just more of the same stuff.

After breaking up the detective gang, the Aqua Teen’s are going solo. Master Shake (Dana Snyder) is homeless and living off the street, trying to bum off Carol (Dave Willis) for a place to live. Meatwad (Dave Willis again) is working at a dog shelter trying to get by (eating dogfood to survive and stealing dogs to make himself useful), while Frylock (Carey Means) has decided to get hired by Amazin and it’s height challenged owner, Neil (Peter Serafinowicz), who is trying to supplant the world’s work force with aliens.

Like usual, the narrative is a chaotic mess that only someone on acid could think up, with the Moonites coming in for a narrator’s choice bit, some Alien storytelling by Master Shake, and of course the three of them getting into more trouble when they figure out that Neil is not exactly the great leader of Amazin that they thought. There’s alien vines, some genetic mutations, and sheer lunacy as the Aqua Teen’s gotta make the homies say ho! And the girlies wanna scream!.

Honestly, this is only going to appeal to a very select audience, and that audience is fans of Aqua Teen Hunger Force already. The show is a bit of an acquired taste from the get go, and the movie sticks directly to a narrative that will feel right at home to long time fans, but make new comers stare at the screen saying “what did I just watch?” to themselves. In a sense, it’s kind of like Beavis and Butthead get their own new movie this last year too. It’s a move that will give the fans exactly what they want, but no one else. If you’ve seen Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theater you’ll know exactly what you’re getting into. Random humor is the name of the game, and the film gives it in spades. Aqua Unit Patrol Squad and Aqua TV Show Show were completely random and bizarre, but this takes it to a while new level with sci fi, jobkeks about Jack Dorsey, Jeff Bezos, and even Elon Music before it became popular to rag on Musk.

Honestly, as a fan of the show and someone who has looked back on it from an older age, Phantasm works best like the show did. In 15-17 minute increments that were very sudden and ended just as suddenly. As the film wore on it started to lose it’s luster and drag a bit. Especially after the uprsing of the plants. It definitely has some very funny moments, and the opening John Carpenter gag was downright hilarious as is Carl (oh, poor Carl), but it does feel a bit like it wore out it’s welcome in the 3rd act.




Rating:

Rated R for language, crude sexual content and some violence.




4K Video: Video:

I’m not sure why Aqua Teen Forver: Phantasm got a 4K UHD release above other titles. It’s not that the disc is horrible or anything, it’s just not a show that really takes advantage of HDR or has a ton of detail to be exploited in 4K. The image is a bit better than the Blu-ray, with strong details, good sharp lines and bright shiny colors, but it’s not some massive leap forward. More accuately, it’s a slightly more fine tuned Blu-ray with some extra pop in some of the primary colors due to the HDR and a LITTLE bit better banding (some of it is baked in, such as the banding on Meatwad’s body). Overall reasonable disc, just not going to really stretch the limitations of the format by any means.








Audio:

Both the Blu-ray and the 4K UHD sport the same nicely effective 5.1 DTS-HD MA track. The film is mostly a dialog heavy affair with MASSIVE weight up in the front of the the room, but it certainly can fill out the surrounds and low ends during the latter half. Explosions are solid, the roar of Neil’s “ship” is boisterous and powerful, and the dialog is above reproach. A decent mix and definitely holds up nicely








Extras:

• Deleted Scenes
• Audio Commentary
• Music Video
• Alternate Cut
• Behind the Scenes

Final Score: ​

Aqua Teen Forever: Phantasm is a funny romp back in time to when Aqua Teen was one of Adult Swim’s biggest hits. It’s tailor made for the fans and certainly has it’s fair share of charm. I’m not sure why it was really popped out on 4K due to being barely better than the Blu-ray (it’s NOT a show that really screams LOOK AT ME!!), but it slightly edges out the 1080p disc. Fun for a romp, it has a few minor extras and will appeal directly to those of us who watched the show for so many years.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Paul Walter Hauser, Peter Sreafinowicz, Natasha Rothwell, Tim Robinson, Dana Snyder, Dave Wiliis, Carey Means
Directed by: Matt Maiellaro, Dave Willis
Written by: Matt Maiellaro, Dave Willis
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, French, Spanish DD 51.
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Warner
Rated: R
Runtime: 76 Minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: November 8th, 2022

Recommendation: Fun Rental

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I remember watching this series long time ago.. Will have to revisit it.