The Mitchells vs. the Machines - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Mitchells Vs. the Machines



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras: :
Final Score:


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Movie
It's almost like stealing people's data and giving it to a hyper-intelligent AI as part of an unregulated tech monopoly was a bad thing.

I had literally ZERO exposure to Netflix’s The Mitchell’s vs. the Machines before going into this review. I fully admit to being lazy and not even watching the trailer when I posted the press release a month or so back for it. I just tossed the info on the site and said “meh, it looks like a mediocre Sony animated film, I’ll see it when the disc comes”. Fast forward said month or so and I toss it in the player and end up being floored. This wasn’t just a good movie, this was a GREAT movie. I laughed, I laughed some more, and I wryly admitted just how right the show runners were with their critique of technology in our lives, and how we drift away from one another. Doesn’t hurt that the Blu-ray is pretty much perfect too.

Katie Mitchell (Abbi Jacobson, best known for Broad City) is a bit of a loner. She’s completely in love with making films while her father is a rabid outdoorsman ala Mike Baxter from Last Man Standing. She’s never really fit in, but she and her dad have had some good times. But now it’s time for her to move out and go study film in Los Angeles, and her eccentric parents think that it’s a good idea to have one last family bonding experience in the form of a road trip to Katie’s film school. Father Rick (Danny McBride) is desperate for one last chance to connect with his literal girl before she’s grown up and gone on, but things get thrown for a loop when a gigantic messup happens during their trip.

You see, while the Mitchells are doing their best to connect and get along during a days long road trip, the gigantic Apple like tech firm PAL is having their greatest unveiling yet. A new A.I. called PAL Max that comes in robot form. It cooks, it cleans, it does everything for you so the lazy consumer can sit in their couches even more. However, things blow up spectacularly (quite literally in fact) when the PAL A.I. decides to take over skynet style and starts rounding up all of the humans in giant “entertainment pods” so that they can be shot into space and thrown away. However, the Mitchellss manage to escape the eye of the roving robots, and with the help of a defective pair of PAL robots named Eric and Eric, the family tries to save the world and end the reign of PAL before humanity is turned extinct in the blink of an eye.

I honestly was caught completely off guard with how hilarious the movie is, AND with how on point it is. The humor is quick and witty, and had my rolling on the floor most of the movie (the mother, played by Maya Rudolph, going mama ninja at the end was probably the most side splitting). It’s rare that a Sony pictures animated children’s flick is THAT good (sorry Sony), but this one knocks it out of the park. There is also a pretty biting commentary on how addicted we are to technology, letting it control more and more of our lives, as we allow it more and more access to our private information. ESPECIALLY when you consider how much fire places like Twitter and Facebook are taking right now for their massive fingers in every pie they can.

The acting is top notch with Maya Rudolph and Danny McBride actually channeling their characters really well instead of just playing themselves. Danny McBride caught me really off guard as he was the one I was worried would be too “Danny McBride”. Instead he does a really great job as the over loving father with a heart of gold, but a lack of understanding of his daughter instead of just being a complete goofball. Not gonna lie, Monchi the pug was probably my favorite part of the movie, and this is the first time that I’ve seen Sony actually pull off a Disney like animal side kick type character with silky smooth perfection.




Rating:

Rated PG for action and some language




Video:

Wowza, this is one impressive looking Blu-ray. I can’t find any actual information on what resolution the digital master was, or if this WAS digital (it actually looked very filmic at times), but either way, I’m kinda sad we didn’t get a 4K UHD for this release. The film looks INCREDIBLE in motion, with a nice sort of watercolor like style to the animation, with great visual details and gorgeously saturated colors. Reds and blues and greens dominate, with splashes of wide and deep dark silky blacks when the film calls for it. The only real negative I can say about the encode AT ALL was that I noticed some VERY mild color banding on the faces at times. Nothing huge, but just enough to notice if you look really closely at the father’s face, for example.









Audio:

Kind of like the 4K UHD desire, I was REALLY hoping for an Atmos mix for this film as the IMDB listing stated that it was created with Atmos. Still, the 5.1 mix is nothing short of demo worthy. It was floored by the deep bass in the opening scene of the movie, but noticed I really needed to turn up the audio mix a good 5-10 DB’s over normal listening volume. However, when properly boosted on the AVR the track is nothing short of a revelation. The vocals are crisp and clean, and the surrounds are filled with all sorts of zany directional shifts as the Mitchells are forced to dodge an army of killer robots. When the bass hits (and it hits OFTEN), it hits hard and powerful, literally slamming you back into your seat. I was just sitting there in awe as I could feel my pant legs flapping from my dual PB-3000s just tearing into this mix. Audio, 5 out of 5 stars and I don’t feel bad about giving a perfect score. Wow, just wow.











Extras:

• Filmmakers' commentary (Blu-ray exclusive)
• Dog Cop 7: The Final Chapter: Katie Mitchell is back and creating the most hilarious film of her young career – check out an all-new mini-movie, Dog Cop 7: The Final Chapter. In a world where the holidays are being haunted by the Candy Cane Kidnapper, there is only one Dog with the skills to solve the case. (Blu-ray exclusive)
• Katie's Extended Cinematic Bonanza Cut! Prepare to witness Katie's director's cut, an extended version of the original film with over 40 minutes of deleted scenes. (Blu-ray exclusive)• Eight Bonus Scenes: Get more Mitchells with over 20 minutes of Deleted & Extended Scenes. (Blu-ray exclusive)
• Katie's Cabinet of Forgotten Wonders: Take a rare look inside Katie Mitchell's filmmaking process as she gives you an exclusive look into how the movie was made.
-- Katie-Vision!
• Dumb Robots Trailer
• The Original "Mitchells" Story Pitch
• The Furby Scene - How? Why?
• PAL's World
• The Mitchells Vs. The Machines: Or How a Group of Passionate Weirdos Made a Big Animated Movie: Go inside the story of The Mitchells vs the Machines and meet a group of first-time filmmakers & talented cast who banded together to take a collective risk on making a unique, original, and totally off-the-wall film about an everyday, epic, world-saving family!
• How To Make Sock Puppets: Katie Mitchell opens the door to her film school. Learn how to make sock puppets who could be extras in your next short film!
• How To Make Katie Face Cupcakes: Enjoy making cupcakes only a mother could love.

Final Score: ​

The Michells vs. the Machines is a slam dunk family film that hits the right amount of comedy, the right amount of silliness, and a healthy dose of social commentary all blended together in a way that doesn’t come across as preachy or over the top. The Blu-ray also is a slam dunk, with picture perfect animation, amazing audio, and we even get a REALLY healthy amount of extras by today's standards as well. Definitely a great watch in this reviewers humble opinion.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Michael Rianda, Eric Andre, Olivia Colman
Directed by: Michael Rianda, Jeff Rowe
Written by: Michael Rianda, Jeff Rowe, Alex Hirsch
Aspect Ratio: 1.85.1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, French DTS-HD MA 5.1, Portuguese, Spanish DD 5.1, English, French DVS
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Studio: Sony
Rated: PG
Runtime: 110 Minutes (Theatrical) / 113 Minutes (Extended)
Blu-ray Release Date: December 7th, 2021

Recommendation: Great Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. We saw this on netflix and we enjoyed it as well. Good movie to watch.