Arrow Video continues to impress with its library of titles and this month comes two interesting sci-fi films in a new UHD transfer. Innerspace, the classic sci-fi comedy from director Joe Dante and producer Steven Spielberg, and Soldier, Paul W.S. Anderson’s sci-fi action flick starring Kurt Russell. Both Innerspace and Soldier will be released on 4K Ultra HD on April 28.
Innerspace is an absolute classic that deserves to go hand-in-hand in remembrance with other high-concept sci-fi comedies like Back to the Future. The great Joe Dante brings his Looney Tunes influence and his penchant for marrying humor with adventure and gave us one of cinema’s most wondrous adventures through a unique lens. Dante is one of Steven Spielberg’s most memorable peers and this is one of the films where his work really shines (aside from the Gremlins movies of course).
Innerspace truly gets to capitalize on its sci-fi hook, with a pilot journeying into a human body, and the comedy effects of Martin Short’s neurotic character being thrust into an unbelievable life-or-death situation. Short’s physical comedy could have been enough to leave the viewer satisfied, but there’s also a great “buddy cop” aspect that comes with the little man inside of him, played by Dennis Quaid. Both actors play very well off each other despite never truly getting to share the scene on camera.
When special effects films like these get remastered into 4K, the optical effects of yesteryear usually become very apparent, unfortunately. Back to the Future‘s old make-up became more noticeable and some of the more dated effects from Ghostbusters became a little too obvious. I was pretty thrilled that Innerspace‘s amazing sequences inside the human body hardly show any cracks. It’s a testament to ILM, who brought the incredible shots to life. The effects team’s method of constructing the gooey inner-workings of Putter’s body may look old-fashioned when compared to modern day movies’ use of CGI, but damn if it still doesn’t look good! All the sequences inside the body deserve a second, third and fourth revisitings after the amazing work from ILM hardly ages and they still look pretty authentic.
The movie also benefits from some great side characters like Robert Picardo’s “The Cowboy.” He was always a favorite of mine growing up and as an adult, my appreciation for him has only grown and I really enjoy Picardo’s performance (including him pulling off the tricky one-shot sequence where he and Martin Short switch during the filming of the scene so he can ultimately end up “passed out” in the bathtub). An adventure such as this is also only as good as its villains. Kevin McCarthy and Fiona Lewis play their roles perfectly as the conspiring, power-hungry rival company heads. Equally, Vernon Wells gets to be a sort of a Terminator-esque henchman with a few fun visual gags.
And finally, Meg Ryan in the 80s was just something else. Her presence here is a big one. I’m sure it’s been said ad nauseum, but Ryan exuded adorable innocence with pluckiness and she gets to do more than be a romantic interest as she plays a journalist investigating for her story and helps Jack, along with Tuck.
Arrow Video does it yet again. These digital home video restorations directly from the original negatives have really helped to not only preserve the films, but they have you almost see it for the first time in a new light. The movie is presented in both DolbyVision and DolbyAtmos. As said earlier, not only do the normal scenes look great remastered, but the old-school effects by ILM are still breathtaking, and if anything, you get a better look at the practical effects with this detail as I’ve noticed things I haven’t before.
The extra material includes a new documentary on the making of Innerspace with all-new 2026 interviews of the creatives, which include Joe Dante, Robert Picardo and special effects maestro Dennis Muren. There are also some really cool archival footage clips of the making of the movie that are included, not only in the documentary, but also as individual special features. There is also an archival commentary on the film with the same collective creative team, as well as a brand new commentary with film critic Drew McWeeny. Those who wanted to hear about some of the in-depth aspects of the movie get to eat really well with these special features as concept storyboards are also included.
I loved revisiting the film through this new 4K release. The Sam Cooke soundtrack had me dancing along with the movie as the sound really popped with the Dolby track. The presentation continues to be amazing for this next Arrow Video release. As I always say — cause I understand that 4Ks are still a pricey purchase compared to other releases — the price can intimidate casual movie buyers, but if you’re a huge fan of the film or a big physical media collector, this would be a welcomed addition to your library.
You can check out the 4K Blu-ray at the Arrow store HERE.