The film "This Island Earth", at the time of its production, represented a clear attempt to make a fantastic and thrilling science fiction film while also presenting a strong Message with Purpose. In modern times, however, it seems rather silly and preachy, and makes a fantastic candidate for "Mystery Science Theatre 3000" (this is the film featured in "MST3K: The Movie").
Nuclear scientist Dr. Cal Meachem (Rex Reason) is contacted by a strange man named Exeter (Jeff Morrow), who has assembled scientists from across the world to aid him, including Dr. Ruth Adams (Faith Domergue). The scientists are all involved in nuclear studies, and when all are destroyed save for Cal and Ruth, it is discovered that Exeter is an alien and that he was hoping that the scientists would aid his embattled and dying planet.
For vintage sci-fi, the acting is not bad. Of course, none of it is any good, but it's not painful. The human characters are all fairly archetypal, with Meachem being the stalwart, square-jawed hero and Ruth being the pretty, vulnerable heroine. Ruth is also a scientist, though, and the movie never downplays this or makes her seem unintelligent. Exeter himself is a far cry from the dominating aliens so common in vintage sci-fi, even if his personality seems to have been lost in space somewhere.
Even the special effects are fairly well-done for the time, and its clear from the cinematography and sets that this was an ambitious picture. The effects are at least as good as those on the original "Star Trek" series, which was produced over a decade later. The film's main failing comes in its laughable script.
The plot and pace shows little variation from similar films, but the screenwriters have tried far too hard to make the characters sound like they know what they're talking about. The actors try their best with these lines, but there's just no getting around some of them. At one point, the humans are instructed to latch onto magnetic bars, which would mean something if their hands were made of metal. Keep in mind, as they say in "MST3K: The Movie", that this was made at a time when science didn't have to have a specific purpose. The science bandied about fails to follow any kind of internal set of rules, which is always a paramount concern when making a sci-fi/fantasy film: you can have things that violate real natural law, just make sure it's consistent.
The film also tries to convey that Violence Is Wrong through the struggles of Exeter's people. It's a noble sentiment, and they broach the subject in an unconventional way, but it's delivered with far too heavy a hand, and somehow side-steps any concerns about nuclear power being involved with it. That might not seem to odd for the time, but keep in mind this was not long after the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The resulting message becomes mired in technobabble and loses any real impact.
Despite the slightly above-average quality of this film, it's still better to see it through the filter of "MST3K: The Movie." It's not a horrible film, but it's good to know that you're not the only watching it that thinks it's just silly. 5 out of 10.
Nuclear scientist Dr. Cal Meachem (Rex Reason) is contacted by a strange man named Exeter (Jeff Morrow), who has assembled scientists from across the world to aid him, including Dr. Ruth Adams (Faith Domergue). The scientists are all involved in nuclear studies, and when all are destroyed save for Cal and Ruth, it is discovered that Exeter is an alien and that he was hoping that the scientists would aid his embattled and dying planet.
For vintage sci-fi, the acting is not bad. Of course, none of it is any good, but it's not painful. The human characters are all fairly archetypal, with Meachem being the stalwart, square-jawed hero and Ruth being the pretty, vulnerable heroine. Ruth is also a scientist, though, and the movie never downplays this or makes her seem unintelligent. Exeter himself is a far cry from the dominating aliens so common in vintage sci-fi, even if his personality seems to have been lost in space somewhere.
Even the special effects are fairly well-done for the time, and its clear from the cinematography and sets that this was an ambitious picture. The effects are at least as good as those on the original "Star Trek" series, which was produced over a decade later. The film's main failing comes in its laughable script.
The plot and pace shows little variation from similar films, but the screenwriters have tried far too hard to make the characters sound like they know what they're talking about. The actors try their best with these lines, but there's just no getting around some of them. At one point, the humans are instructed to latch onto magnetic bars, which would mean something if their hands were made of metal. Keep in mind, as they say in "MST3K: The Movie", that this was made at a time when science didn't have to have a specific purpose. The science bandied about fails to follow any kind of internal set of rules, which is always a paramount concern when making a sci-fi/fantasy film: you can have things that violate real natural law, just make sure it's consistent.
The film also tries to convey that Violence Is Wrong through the struggles of Exeter's people. It's a noble sentiment, and they broach the subject in an unconventional way, but it's delivered with far too heavy a hand, and somehow side-steps any concerns about nuclear power being involved with it. That might not seem to odd for the time, but keep in mind this was not long after the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The resulting message becomes mired in technobabble and loses any real impact.
Despite the slightly above-average quality of this film, it's still better to see it through the filter of "MST3K: The Movie." It's not a horrible film, but it's good to know that you're not the only watching it that thinks it's just silly. 5 out of 10.