Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Seeking a way to save their doomed world, a crew of tiny, human-looking aliens arrives on earth in the perfect disguise - a spaceship shaped like Eddie Murphy, the ship's captain. While trying to save their planet, the aliens encounter problems, as their ship becomes smitten with an Earth woman.

When I was growing up I loved most of Eddie Murphy’s films. Lately it has been nearly the opposite. Sure he was great as Donkey in the Shrek films but his live action releases have been almost embarrassingly bad more often than not. Meet Dave is really no exception and delivers a rather silly story plagued with bad lines and only an occasion good laugh. Murphy’s body is a space ship for tiny aliens that are looking for a rock that was sent to the planet to collect the salt from our oceans. Once they arrive they do their best to adapt and link up with the a boy and his mom who help shed some light on Earth’s people and culture. The story then goes along predictably as the ship’s inhabitants start to get into the groove with Earth’s cultures and uprising begins.

The HD transfer is good with great color rendition and depth. Colors are slightly exaggerated from time to time and give the image a very punchy feel but the effect can also be a tad distracting. Contrast levels are strong and overall dimension is solid. The image has a very natural film look to it with noticeable grain structure and a nice level of fine detail. Some of the CG effects aren’t as seamless as one would like but they don’t spoil the experience.

The DTS-HD Master Audio mix is a nice balance of dynamics and presence and excels considering the genre. Low bass extension is impressive at times and the soundstage is very open in character. Surrounds are used extensively for ambiance but also add some nice spatial touches and panning effects. Dialogue sounds natural and is balanced within the mix nicely.

Fox has included quite a few extras for this one including some funny gag reels and deleted scenes. There are a few clips from Fox Movie Channel that focus on the production and director and shed some light on making the film. Crew profiles and some previews are also included.

While I can’t say much for the film itself Fox has done a good job with the presentation. I wish Eddie Murphy would go back to his older style of comedy but since he is a family man maybe he is focusing his efforts more on comedy for the whole family. I just wish some of the material was a bit better.