Supernova

Almost fifteen years after its initial release in 2000, the James Spader- and Angela Bassett-starring sci-fi film "Supernova" looks great on this new Blu-ray edition, but don't worry: The film itself is just as craptastic as you remember.

Spader -- buffed up and sexy like you've never seen him before or since -- plays a troubled new crewman aboard a medical rescue ship dubbed Nightingale Nine. He's a recovering junkie, but he's also ex-military, which means he's a good man to have around when the ship is lured to a distant part of the galaxy, where a ninth-dimensional alien artifact capable of destroying the universe has taken over the mind of a young man who calls himself Nick (Peter Facinelli). Not only is Nick becoming unhinged, but the artifact is also changing him physically, turning him into a sadistic, super-strong predator.

Slasher-in-space antics ensure, with the crew being picked off one at a time; these include a pair of lovebird medical technicians played by Robin Tunney and Lou Diamond Phillips, as well as a computer engineer played by Wilson Cruz, his AI pal the ship's computer -- whom he has named "Sweetie" (Vanessa Marshall) -- and a fumbling maintenance android called Flyboy (Eddy Rice Jr.), who is dressed the part in World War I fighter pilot gear. (the ship's captain, played by Robert Forster, is dispatched early on in an unrelated, utterly inexplicable accident.)

The famously troubled production involved constant last-minute re-writes, post-production re-shoots, and a thorough re-editing. Originally conceived as grotty B-movie, the film ended up with a bigger budget, some big name stars, the personal attention of Francis Ford Coppola, and a laughable preview trailer that attempted to sell the movie as a space-faring sex farce. The end result is a film that's confused about tone and theme, and feels patched together from scraps and leavings of all the popular mainstream sci-fi films that came before it, especially the "Alien" and "Star Trek" films.

The bonus features include a new documentary in which various people associated with the film talk about it frankly, with a refreshing degree of objectivity when it comes to weighing the finished film's strengths and weaknesses. There are also a few deleted scenes and an alternate ending, which are presented in murky standard definition (and look like they are sourced off videotape), but which pique the imagination with some interesting material that could have added a little depth and punch to the film -- especially the unused ending, a much stronger resolution with a haunting, downbeat twist.

This is a terrible movie, which doesn't stop it from being a really good time. If you're a fan of B-film sci-fi trash, this Blu-ray belongs on your shelf, and if you've never seen it, you really need to, at least once.

"Supernova"
Blu-ray
$24.97
https://www.shoutfactory.com/film/sci-fi/supernova