Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

ma-cortes The planet Metaluna is desperate need of Uranium to power its defense . As Aliens led by Exeter , Jeff Morrow , come to Earth seeking scientists to help them against enemy invaders . Two scientific , Rex Reason Faith Domergue , are deceived , menaced , abducted and transported from earth to a weird and ruined planet where occurs explosion and destruction.As our heroes are theatened by unknown forces .Acceptable Scifi movie has thrills , intricate gadgetry , emotion , FX ahead of their time and super mutant monsters .This classic and rare Sci-Fi is considered to be the first serious film about interplanetary escapades .It contains primitive special effects and abundant matte painting . Including passable effects of a flying saucer based on a famous picture of an unidenfitied flying object UFO . Mediocre interpretation by an average cast. Starred by little known actors as Rex Reason as a nuclear scientist , Jeff Morrow as the rare alien , and the beautiful Faith Domergue as a nuclear fission expert who screams lustily . Other secondaries are given little to do such as Lance Fuller , Russell Johnson , Douglas Spencer and Richard Deacon . Here stands out the decent makeup by Bud Westmore creating pulsating cranium FX makeup on a gigantic and ugly Alien monster. Although some reviewers felt that the mutant utterly ruined an otherwise acceptable film . It was shown in US drive-in on a double bill with another classic Scfi titled Forfidden planet . Strange but appropriate musical score from Herman Stein , Hans J Salter and Henry Mancini . Colorful cinematography in brilliant technicolor , by Clifford Stine , as technical details are presented in convincing enough fashion , being the only technicolor scifi movie Universal-International ever made .This genuine and decent science fiction was well produced by Willian Alland and professionally directed by Joseph M Newman . He was a prolific craftsman who made all kinds of genres as drama , gangster movie , Film Noir , adventure , such as : Tarzan ,Jungle patrol , The king of the roaring 20s the story of Arnold Rothstein , Love nest , Great Dan Patch and , of course , Science Fiction with this vintage film of the fifties titled This island earth. Rating : 6/10 , decent movie . Essential and indispensable watching for SciFi buffs . Well worth seeing.

TheRedDeath30 Your opinion of this movie is going to depend greatly on your opinion of this genre, in general. If you are a new explorer to the histories of sci-fi who may like movies like ALIEN and you've heard that this movie had some influence on it and you're her to explore, then beware that you have to have some appreciation for the era of film that this movie comes from. There are laughable effects, bad acting and outlandish plots aplenty.There are those vehement defenders of movies like this who are seething at any condemnation of this movie. This is a science fiction film classic and should be treated with reverence. Yes, I understand that, too, but appreciating a Model T Ford doesn't mean I want to drive it to work each day. It's okay to admit that the modern viewer will find some parts of this movie to be amusing reminders of a simpler era.The plot centers around a scientist, who has a very high opinion of himself, played by an actor who I would guess had a similarly high opinion of himself in real life. One day he has a mysterious plane "accident" followed by the arrival of strange and unexplained mechanical parts. The man does what any scientist/ jet pilot/ genius would do and goes along for the ride. This leads to the creation of the world's largest television set, which only gets one channel. It's overgrown oompa loompas inviting our scientist hero into a plot to gather the world's brightest and create peace on earth. Naturally, our hero doesn't question this peaceful intent even when their giant boob tube is revealed to come equipped with death rays and a self- destruct mode.The scientist abandons his assistant in a dramatic goodbye scene to embark on a perilous journey to...Georgia. It's here where he encounters a former one night stand and the plot is exposed to be a lie. Of course, the real goal of the aliens is the same as every other movie from this era, to invade Earth. Eventually, we get to see their planet Metaluna, which is a devastated looking place full of hideous mutants. It is these final moments that, for me, are the real draw of this movie.I'm having a little bit of fun with the plot, but I'm also a fan of these films and expect to have a little fun with it. The first hour of the film could have used a little bit more work in the editing room as the pace slows at times. It's a plot typical of the 50s sci-fi shockers of this time, with elaborate and, sometimes, silly plot points. The acting, especially from our male lead, is very indicative of its' time. There are some decent effects shots for a a drive-in cheapie, though. The death rays still look pretty good and the chase scene in the station wagon looks better than a lot of movies from this same era can claim.The real draw, as stated, is that final act on Metaluna. This is a desolate planet, full of steaming holes, dark caves and ominous red lighting. Admittedly, it shows its' age some, but it still looks like a terrifying place that I don't want to visit all these years later. You can draw a line from this movie to something like PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES and, eventually, ALIEN. In the years to follow, the real star of this movie has become the mutants, a brilliant creature design, who's image has now become part of the iconic Universal Monsters lineup and is typically included in any toy line or marketing. The legs didn't work and they had to use pants for the monsters, but even with this limitation, these mutants may just be the first truly terrifying aliens ever put onto the screen. The brilliant blue colors and crab-like hands, with those bulbous heads and black eyes go even further towards establishing this movie's rightful place in movie lore and history.It's going to be a little slow for most viewers today, but if you're a fan of classic film, then this is well worth the time.

punishmentpark A rather corny old sci-fi flick that has some sentiments that go a long way, even today. A lot of the writing is rather funny and clever, as you can check via the quotes here on IMDb. The characters are okay, with Rex Reason (great name) as a supersmart science guy who can fly a plane and overpower bad aliens if need be, and has the looks and deep voice of a womanizer to match. The forehead people are fun, too, and that weird slave alien in the end is just hilariously excellent - and probably a big influence for many film aliens that followed, like the ones in 'Mars Attacks!'.There's a lot of fun action / scientific experiments, cheesy effects and great looking (miniature) sets in a story that is pretty fast and interesting. Does it make sense? On some levels there is more than might meet the eye I think, but don't expect too much. The relief that superscience guy and hot (well... just check out her space suit) science chick are so happy to be back safe on earth, which luckily is still also safe, is even endearing. Too bad about Exit, erm, Exeter, but what are you gonna do?A good 7 out of 10.

ebiros2 This is somehow an unforgettable movie perhaps because its visual was so unusual. The premise of the story was also original, and had more intelligence than the average science fiction of the time.Metaluna, a dying planet sends an envoy called Exeter to earth, hoping to get permission to mine earth's uranium to provide energy for their planet's defense system. But they do this in an unconventional way compared to other alien themed movie. The alien Exeter arrives covertly and established a posh residence among humans, mingling only with scientist of their choosing. Exeter's way of establishing contact is rather unorthodox. He sends parts that is beyond earth's industrial manufacturing capability to a scientist. Next he sends a complete instruction on how to make a communications device to talk to him. Dr. Meacham who's one of the recipient accepts his invitation and visits his mansion.Fast forward a bit in story, Meacham, and Dr. Ruth Adams are on their way to Metaluna. The planet is under attack, and their only hope is to immigrate to earth, but their planned method is not peaceful.The story is totally apocalyptic, and perhaps the creators of this movie had a warning message against nuclear holocaust that was one of the new topic of the post war America. Story is not complex but the delivery is brutal in its depiction, and has a unique kind of terror to it that's different from any other kind of science fiction movie. That is the value of this movie and why I think it continues to have fans after half a century has passed since its making.The producers may have been a closet UFO buffs, as the saucer in this movie is designed after the UFO that was sighted over California in the '50s. That kind of personal interest on their part is probably what made the movie so intriguing watch. Not a masterpiece from a production point of view but but stands out because the ideas, and presentation was so original and shocking.