MGM's sleazy, voyeuristic variation of the Alien formula may not be the most original sci-fi epic to come along, but it's definitely one of the better guilty pleasures of the 90s. This new edition of the film boasts a few welcome extras, as well as a better picture and sound quality over the original DVD release.

Scientists have been tweaking with some alien DNA, crossing it with human cells to produce "Sil," a malevolent female hybrid who grows at an alarming rate. They decide she is dangerous and must be killed, but Sil escapes the lab where she was grown and high-tails it to Los Angeles (where she seems to fit right in, of course). Head researcher Ben Kingsley recruits an assortment of experts (Michael Madsen, Alfred Molina, Forest Whitaker & Marg Helgenberger) to hunt down and kill her. Meanwhile, Sil (Natasha Henstridge) has grown to full adulthood and now wants to mate...pity the poor bastards whom she selects; every time this team of experts get near, Sil's coitus interruptus results in the these guys dying violently. Only a dumb-ass would take the derivative story seriously, although it is presented with a totally straight face. Species mainly exists to showcase some creatively violent deaths, designer H.R. Gigar's elaborate (and occasionally goofy) creature design, and present Henstridge naked as often as possible (though sometimes the result of the latter is unintentionally comical). Everything else takes a backseat. This is one of those logic-be-damned flicks where you shouldn't scrutinize the story too hard, nor should you expect anything but workman-like performances by the cast (which does do a good job with the silly script). If you can overlook all that, Species is a lot of dirty, violent fun.

I never saw the first edition of this disc, so I can't really make any picture quality comparisons, but the image of this edition is quite good, presented in it original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. There are a few scenes late in the film with distracting grain, but for the most part, the image is clean. The soundtrack is offered in both 5.1 Dolby & 5.1 DTS, and it sounds great.

Two audio commentaries are included. The first features director Roger Donaldson and actors Madsen & Henstridge; the second also features Donaldson and producer Frank Mancuso, along with FX experts Richard Edlund & Steve Johnson. Both commentaries offer lots of great stuff about the film's production. The remaining features are all trailers for other MGM releases, including one for Species III , a direct-to-video sequel and probably the main reason for this new edition of the original film.

Similar Movies: Alien; Eve of Destruction; Species II; The Relic Summary: Species isn't a very original movie. It would be a stretch to even call it a good movie. But it is a fun movie, loaded with gratuitous sex & violence, and very well executed for a sleazoid exploitation flick. But the kids to bed, pop open a beer, and revel in what a grade-A cast and crew can do with grade-B material.