The first time I saw this movie was on a weekend afternoon on one of the UHF stations out of Sacramento. I only saw the first five minutes or so. Up to the part where the characters actually take their first steps forward, and then the family had to go somewhere.
Throughout the years I'd catch the same beginning time and again, but was always drawn away from it.
Well, I finally saw it all last year, and where it wasn't sterling scifi fare, it was decent for a 1960s reminisce-blast from scifi film making of days of yore. Finally being able to see this full film in its entirety put a smile on my face. The same kind of feeling I got when I saw other films that I had often heard about, but had never fully seen, just bits and pieces here and there on broadcast TV back in the 70s and 80s.
But, to the movie; it's standard science fiction time travel stuff. Throw in a few mutants, some robots, and you got yourself a movie. There's a romantic subplot of sorts, some rocket ships, a fight for survival, a battle of good and evil, all the things that make great science fiction great. Only this film isn't exactly the greatest thing ever, it's just decent enough to be watchable.
Lots of basic shots, mostly standard master shots and two shots to push the narrative forward. There are no or few dramatic closeups, no rapid machinegun editing, and a score that's your standard "danger of the unknown" music so prominent of scifi of the 50s and 60s.
It's the kind of movie that someone thought would be a good thing for people to see, and that scifi aficionados like myself thought would be worth seeing once or twice. And the film delivers on that account.
I'm so glad I finally saw it after decades of just catching snippits of it. I'm not sure I'll buy the DVD or bluray to add to my collection, but I'm glad it's out there for all to see.
If you're a scifi fan, then maybe give this film a chance on the player of your choice. Enjoy.
