A destructive series of freakish natural disasters decimate the earth. The cause of said disasters turns out to be a barren, yet lethal, living and breathing asteroid that's hurtling through space on a collision course with our world. It's up to an intrepid team of astronauts led by courageous ramrod Commander Jackson (a suitably stiff'n'stalwart Giacomo Rossi-Stuart) to destroy the asteroid before it's too late. The fate of our planet depends on Jackson and his team successfully accomplishing their desperate mission. Director Antonio Margheriti keeps the pace moving along at a steady, speedy clip and plays the utterly absurd story ludicrously straight. Moreover, all the necessary winningly crummy ingredients for an entertainingly asinine piece of unmitigated drivel are present and accounted for: cruddy dubbing, wooden acting, cardboard characters, a corny stock film library score, and wonderfully rinky-dink (far from) special effects (I especially dug the Tonka toy miniatures). Sure, this admittedly schlocky flick is dumb, chintzy and totally ridiculous, but this engagingly inane and immaterial piffle nonetheless is still tons better and more enjoyable than the abominable "Armegeddon."
Review of War Between the Planets
War Between the Planets
(1966)
An enjoyably silly mid 60's Italian low-budget sci-fi hoot
13 July 2006
Warning: Spoilers