In 1965, American audiences were given the treat of seeing the Star Man trilogy in "Attack From Space", "Invaders From Space" and "Evil Brain From Outer Space". In each, the Emerald Planet (filled with silly but benevolent weirdos) sends the super-hero Star Man to Earth to fight off an invasion by hostile forces--or just to get rid of him because he looked so silly. Star Man is Ken Utsui--a Japanese guy in a body suit with an antennae on top of his head as well as a cape! I am pretty sure he must have felt ridiculous in this getup. However, ANYONE appearing in these films should have felt pretty silly, as they are amazingly bad--at least in their confusing English-dubbed versions. Originally, they were part of some TV series called "Super Giant" ("Sûpâ Jaiantsu").
In this installment, the Salamander People are trying to wipe out the humans with some sort of virus. It's not a terrible idea for a plot. However, it turns out that the virus is disbursed by a modern dance troop of aliens performing in Japan!! Watching their hysterical gyrations and acrobatics is pretty funny. But they must stop both Star Man and Dr. Fukami--and spend most of the film trying to kill or brainwash the pair. Can the Earth possibly be spared? And, does anyone out there even care?!
The film abounds with Star Man and the Salamander People doing somersaults and flips instead of actually fighting. I must say, they were quite athletic and talented--that is, until they tried acting or fighting. Then, it was just dreadful. However, the film, like the other two, is so amazingly bad and silly that it might be worth seeing if you are a bad movie addict and love laughing at ineptness. This certainly qualifies as inept!
