Italian cult/exploitation cinema never ceases to amaze me! Here I always was believing the Italians were merely copycats of major Hollywood landmarks. Like, that for every massively profitable American film, the Italians immediately produced 50 cheap (but amusing) rip-offs. This theory, however, does not apply to Sci-Fi from the sixties. "2 + 5 Mission Hydra" actually came two years before the big Sci-Fi boom, which only got kick-started by "2001: A Space Odyssey" in 1968. Of course, another ten years later, they re-released this bizarre flick again, hoping to cash-in on the success of "Star Wars" by giving it the similar - and more commercial sounding - title "Star Pilots".
Under whatever title, this is a really strange puppy. A handful of scientists, and a wannabe actress with skimpy outfits, investigate strange radiation readings in Sicily. Well, actually, they call themselves scientists, but they don't even recognize an alien spaceship when they are standing in the middle of its control room. As it was mandatory in 60s Sci-Fi, the alien wear tight suits and walk as if they are robots. Their leader is a feisty redhead whom I kept confusing with the wannabe actress. To be entirely honest, "2 + 5 Mission Hydra" is a very muddled movie, and I wasn't paying too much attention. The aliens want the scientists to repair their ship, but they secretly also intend to kidnap them. There are secret agents from the East (Oriental, not Chinese) for some reason, female weightlessness footage that probably looked very erotic in 1966, and also an utterly bizarre sequence that looks like a prelude to "Planet of the Apes". Oh, and Gordon Mitchell appears in black-and-white on a TV-monitor for about 30 seconds.
One thing's for sure; I'm never watching this again without getting really drunk first!
Under whatever title, this is a really strange puppy. A handful of scientists, and a wannabe actress with skimpy outfits, investigate strange radiation readings in Sicily. Well, actually, they call themselves scientists, but they don't even recognize an alien spaceship when they are standing in the middle of its control room. As it was mandatory in 60s Sci-Fi, the alien wear tight suits and walk as if they are robots. Their leader is a feisty redhead whom I kept confusing with the wannabe actress. To be entirely honest, "2 + 5 Mission Hydra" is a very muddled movie, and I wasn't paying too much attention. The aliens want the scientists to repair their ship, but they secretly also intend to kidnap them. There are secret agents from the East (Oriental, not Chinese) for some reason, female weightlessness footage that probably looked very erotic in 1966, and also an utterly bizarre sequence that looks like a prelude to "Planet of the Apes". Oh, and Gordon Mitchell appears in black-and-white on a TV-monitor for about 30 seconds.
One thing's for sure; I'm never watching this again without getting really drunk first!