Tank Girl

• Cert:
• Cat.no: 15916 DVD
• Running time: 101 minutes
• Year: 1995
• Pressing: 2001
• Region(s): 2 (UK PAL)
• Chapters: 16 plus extras
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Languages: 5 languages available
• Subtitles: 12 languages available
• Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Super 35)
• 16:9-enhanced: Yes
• Macrovision: No
• Disc Format: DVD 9
• Price: £15.99
• Extras: Trailer
  

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  Directors:

  Rachel Talalay

  (Nightmare on Elm Street 6, Tank Girl)

Producers:

Screenplay:

Music:

Cast:

Tank Girl: Lori Petty
Kesslee: Malcolm McDowell
T-Saint: Ice T
Jet Girl: Naomi Watts
Sgt. Small: Don Harvey
Sub Girl: Ann Cusack
Rat Face: Iggy Pop

What started off as a comic strip character became oneof the most ill-conceived big screen ventures of all time: Tank Girl

It’s the year 2033 and courtesy of a huge meteor, the world is left withoutwater, television and all the other things in life that are good for you.All of the H2O in the world is controlled by chief villain Kesslee (MalcolmMcDowell) and the ‘gurl’ with attitude, Tank Girl (Lori Petty),is out to get him and restore the supply along with her friends T-Saint (Ice T,dressed as god-knows-what) and Jet Girl (Naomi Watts) along withstatic animation shots dropped in like a ‘Kapow’ in a Batman cartoon.

I expect the idea must have looked good on paper, but the loud, outrageousbehaviour of its lead character is put across with such a lack of conviction.Also, the once-attractive Petty – well, in Point Break andA League of Their Own at least since Free Willywasn’t exactly my kind of film – looks like she’s had any trace of brain removedand has worked herself out to look too thin and muscly for her own good… a bitlike Geri Halliwell now. I bet she’s wondering what’s happened to her career nowtoo, given that she’s done nothing of worth since any of those and the Hollywoodcasting couch has stopped calling her name.

The film is also not helped with Rachel Talalay in the director’schair after the mess she made with the execrable Nightmare on Elm Street6 and the female side of the Cusack family prove that there’s nobeginning to their talents when John and Joan’s sister Ann Cusack turnsup as Sub Girl.

Lori ponders where her career went.

The film is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and mostly looks finebut some scenes are dogged by a lack of sharpness for no particular reason.The filming process was Super 35 and the average bitrate is a high and static9.1Mb/s.

While the content may be a complete mess, at least the sound makes things upa little with Dolby Digital 5.1 in all five languages: English, German,French, Italian and Spanish. The many action scenes – and the brief occurenceof Portishead track “Roads” during a dusty shower scene forPetty – make good use of your speakers. I wouldn’t have said no to theDTS 5.1 soundtrack that was made for the theatrical release though and hasn’tbeen used on this nor the Region 1 DVD either.

The only extra is a 90-second Trailer, there are subtitles in9 languages: English and German (both with hard of hearing options),French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish.The menus are all static and silent.

“Listen to me, I used to make *good* films once, you know…”

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