Blu-ray Review: TANK GIRL (1995)

I assumed for years that Tank Girl was a movie about the band, No Doubt, based on the old MGM DVD that I would walk past constantly at a local supermarket. Turns out that’s not Gwen Stefani on the cover, but rather Lori Petty, a girl warrior in a post-apocalyptic Australia where a corporate tyrant controls the remaining water supply.

Available now on Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment, this Gen X staple echoes the aggressiveness and attitude of the mid-90s. One could easily dismiss this as a Mad Max rip-off, but Max never had an ally in Ice-T as a humanoid kangaroo. Tank Girl is a creative, but not-so-cohesive, adventure with a high level of energy that leaves no room for boredom. As an Australian, I always appreciate an outsider’s take on the country and while there’s not an ounce of accuracy to this particular land Down Under, the almost cartoonish representation reflects the many wild notions held by international audiences.

Lori Petty as our unphased heroine is iconic in her varying costumes that are somewhere between steampunk and punk rock. I’m not sure that I’m down with her vibe and big personality, but she embodies the role trying to soak up as much of the character from the original comic book series as possible. Tank Girl’s rebellious nature plays well against Malcolm McDowell as the film’s main antagonist, Kesslee, who is perfectly cast and never wastes a single line. The two represent a generation divided: a bewildered parent yelling at their teenage daughter to turn the music down.

Naomi Watts steps away from that classic Tim Tam commercial and evening soaps for one of her first big-screen roles as Tank Girl’s high-altitude sidekick, Jet Girl, naturally. She’s quite timid in comparison, but a mechanical genius who keeps the story rolling along and later develops into a tough chick in her own right.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Limited Collector’s Edition Box Set [2000 copies]
Limited Edition Hardbound Slipcase featuring new artwork by Tank Girl cover artist Greg Staples
Limited edition 60-page collector’s book featuring an introduction by Tank Girl co-creator Alan Martin and new writing on the film by genre cinema experts Stacey Abbott, Susan Kerns and Kieran Foster
Audio commentary with director Rachel Talalay and actress Lori Petty
Not a Bedtime Story – A new interview with artist Greg Staples on Tank Girl from page to screen
Girl U Want – A new appreciation of Tank Girl with film scholar and fan Lindsay Hallam
Baseball, Tanks and Bad Tattoos – archival interview with star Lori Petty
Too Hip for Spielberg – archival interview with director Rachel Talalay

With so many editions of Tank Girl on the market, it’s good to see this UK release offers some exclusive content in the form of two, insightful interviews. Lindsay Hallam turned out to be the perfect interview subject due to the film scholar covering all Tank Girl bases as an Australian Gen-Xer, and of course, a woman. Most of all, Hallman is an enthusiastic fan of the 1995 classic and her background provides important context surrounding the film’s place among female-led adventures. As an artist who’s worked on the Tank Girl comic, Greg Staples offers an appreciation of how the film adaptation was able to preserve the spirit of the original work while being its own unique entity. – by Hannah Lynch

VIDEO AND AUDIO

Tank Girl has been rolled out on Blu-ray three times this year with unique editions in the United States, Australia, and of course the UK under Eureka Entertainment. However, all have used the same 1080p HD presentation which looks decent enough, especially during the animated sequences, but I feel the overall image quality does pale compared to the many 2K and 4K restorations that are being used as source material these days. 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and optional LPCM 2.0 provide a rich scope of sound, while the 2.0 track is more favourable to dialogue volume. English subtitles are included.

TANK GIRL
(1995, director: Rachel Talalay)