Producer Jack H. Harris, screenwriter Theodore Simonson, and director Irvin S. Yeaworth, Jr. re-teamed for this sci-fi effort after the far more popular (and more fun) "The Blob". This viewer just didn't have as much fun with this as he would have liked given the nifty premise of this feature. Unfortunately, the pacing is a little sluggish at first, with too much time devoted to the romantic subplot of the story. But right around the halfway point, things start cooking, with more action taking place. The visual effects here are actually pretty good for the time when this was made, and the body count is fairly high. There has to a debit, however, for the persistent, overbearing jazz score (by Ralph Carmichael) which does work on occasion, but doesn't, for the most part.
Sharp featured and intense leading man Robert Lansing plays Dr. Scott Nelson, a scientist who's developed this supposedly impregnable metal which gets dubbed cargonite. His brother is another scientist, Tony Nelson (James Congdon), whose own obsession has paid off: he's figured out how to have matter occupying the same space at the same time, and pass objects through one another - including the cargonite. The Nelsons experiment together only to find that Scott can now pass *himself* through various things. Scott finds some pleasure from his newfound ability, but there are side effects - there have to be side effects in a story like this - Scott is getting progressively more insane and now rapidly ageing, and has to make physical contact with other living things to temporarily regain his youth.
Lovely Miss America winner Lee Meriwether ('Batman', 'Barnaby Jones') is the lady who comes between the brothers; Robert Strauss, Edgar Stehli, and a very young Patty Duke are also among the cast in this amusing bit of escapism with some good moments. Lansing does a solid job in the lead; you do feel for him when Meriwether, whom he wants to marry, shows more interest in Congdon, and although you know he needs to be stopped when he goes on the inevitable rampage, he's not quite a simple one-dimensional villain.
"4D Man" is no classic, but is entertaining enough for 85 minutes.
Seven out of 10.
Sharp featured and intense leading man Robert Lansing plays Dr. Scott Nelson, a scientist who's developed this supposedly impregnable metal which gets dubbed cargonite. His brother is another scientist, Tony Nelson (James Congdon), whose own obsession has paid off: he's figured out how to have matter occupying the same space at the same time, and pass objects through one another - including the cargonite. The Nelsons experiment together only to find that Scott can now pass *himself* through various things. Scott finds some pleasure from his newfound ability, but there are side effects - there have to be side effects in a story like this - Scott is getting progressively more insane and now rapidly ageing, and has to make physical contact with other living things to temporarily regain his youth.
Lovely Miss America winner Lee Meriwether ('Batman', 'Barnaby Jones') is the lady who comes between the brothers; Robert Strauss, Edgar Stehli, and a very young Patty Duke are also among the cast in this amusing bit of escapism with some good moments. Lansing does a solid job in the lead; you do feel for him when Meriwether, whom he wants to marry, shows more interest in Congdon, and although you know he needs to be stopped when he goes on the inevitable rampage, he's not quite a simple one-dimensional villain.
"4D Man" is no classic, but is entertaining enough for 85 minutes.
Seven out of 10.