Review of War Between the Planets

Natural disasters on Earth herald the approach of a seemingly living planet in this, the third of Antonio Margheriti's 'Gamma One' space-opera tetralogy (so named because of the ubiquitous spinning space-station). Once again, the future seems to be a high-tech version of the groovy 1960s as Margheriti recycles or repurposes sets, props, and miniatures from the first two films (notably, the futuristic city, the 'Jetsons-esque' cars, and the space-bases from which the mighty 'Jupitar' rockets are launched). These scenes are colourful and well-done (for the budget) but no longer novel; whereas, the second half of the film, in which the heroic astronauts, led by Cmdr. Rod Jackson (Jack Stuart aka Giacomo Rossi Stuart) and equipped with anti-matter bombs, arrive on the errant planet, is a gaudy, over-the-top, cheesy delight. I especially like the scenes of the space-suited explorers carefully picking their way through a morass of gurgling, bright-red ooze with their rocketships floating in space above them (although the shots of them as stiff little dolls 'flying' like pendulums above the planet's surface undermine the illusion somewhat). Despite being made in the mid-1960s, the 'finned-spindle' design of the spaceships are reminiscent of the illustrations in the popular 50's 'space books' by Willy Ley or covers of pulp magazines from the same era. Visual splendor aside, the film is not particularly good. The 'rogue planet' premise is a retread of the tokusatsu adventures 'Warning From Space (1956) and 'Gorath' (1962) but makes even less sense. The script is artificial and contrived, and the acting wooden, bordering on amateurish at times (but some of the Italian actors may have been speaking English by rote). While the special-effects set-pieces are well-done (for the budget) and entertaining, Margheriti's direction in the 'human' scenes is pretty trite, with most reactions being accentuated by a sudden 'dramatic' close-up, and the last reel drags a bit as the demolition team trudges through the interior of the strange planet. New to this entry in the series, there is an annoying voice-over explaining events and what the characters are thinking; a cheap pretense that is often the sign of a rushed production or lack of faith in the actors, direction, or storyline (or a patch on an incoherent final product). For genre-fans, the colourful, eye-catching visuals will be remembered long after the film's myriad weakness are forgotten (non-genre fans are unlikely to stick around long enough to see the 'good bits'). Followed by the final installment in the heroic exploits of the Gamma One personnel, the strange abominable-snowman/space-alien hybrid 'The Snow Devils' (1967), which features the same leads although (oddly) not always playing the same characters.