Uchu kara no messeji

I first saw this movie when I was 8 and it just gets better every year. Sure, it's a Star Wars ripoff, but so what? Message From Space has better swordfights and Vic Morrow in a funny hat. Plus Sonny Chiba kills a lot of silver-skinned aliens, Peggy Lee Brennan demonstrates that in the future, people will still have Long Island accents. There aren't two minutes of this film that aren't filled with laser gunfights, spaceships, monsters, explosions, giant holograms, or major satellite destruction, and the original script is by Shotaro Ishinomori, who is Japan's #2 all-time manga genius. In short, this movie rocks. Somebody get off your butt and give me my DVD release!!!

Okay, few people could do justice in reviewing this film. It's a horrible film. It's badly made. The story is full of cliches. The acting is bad, and most of the special effects, barring some neat explosions, are pitiful. But the movie is not something that you should avoid -- rather, the worst features of this blatant Star Wars rip-off are the reasons you should see it! It's HILARIOUS!

This movie is the kind of film that the Mystery Science Theater 3000 crowd would have a field day with. The dialog in the movie is so idiotic at times, and so blatantly ripped off of star wars at others, that plenty of Star Wars jokes will be in order during the viewing of this film.

Imagine Vic Morrow in a thick, fluffy fur coat, getting drunk in a bar with his little Robot sidekick, then raising his glass to discover a glowing walnut in it, and exclaiming "I've been selected by the Gods!" Then there's a electric-samurai-sword fight near the end where the dialog is almost verbatum what it was between Darth Vader and Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars. Even if you're not a big fan of MST3K, you gotta at least admire the explosions in this film. All the explosions are well done, including a mock atomic mushroom cloud that's quite spectacular.

Yes, it's a bad film -- but it's such a bad film that it's good!

This certainly isn't a masterpiece, however it's something that shouldn't be overlooked. It's Japan's attempt to make Star Wars and is a complete failure. That doesn't mean it's terrible. It's history. These types of movies are so cool to look back on and watch. We shouldn't forget or overlook them.

I saw a Kabuki production in Tokyo in August, 2006. Read the 2nd half of the plot synopsis shown below. It is very clear to me that the business with the glowing walnuts, and the "chosen" ones (dog warriors, below) coming together to fight the good fight, was based on this Kabuki plot.

"Hakkenden: the original novel is an immense epic by 19th century novelist Takizawa Bakin published over many years, but eventually reaching one-hundred and sixty volumes. The Satomi clan is being attacked and its lord offers his daughter Princess Fuse to the warrior that will bring him the head of the enemy. It is his loyal dog that kills and beheads the enemy and, saying that her father must not go back on his word, Princess Fuse goes with the dog. Nevertheless, the Satomi clan is defeated and one of its loyal retainers goes to rescue Princess Fuse, shooting the dog, but unfortunately shooting Princess Fuse as well. The eight crystal beads of her rosary, each engraved with the Chinese characters of one of the Confucian virtues, goes flying through the air. Miraculously, each will be found with a newborn baby. These eight children, all of whom have the character inu for "dog" in their names, eventually meet and join together to restore the Satomi clan. The play features all the stars of the company and follows the adventures of the eight dog warriors as they meet and gradually join together, leading to a climactic fight on the roof of a dizzyingly high tower."

This was one the first of the many Star Wars knockoffs and it does borrow certain key elements (the bad guys operate from a mobile planet which blows up real good at the climax, the spoiled rich girl rides around in a ship that is basically a rectangular version of The Millineum Falcon). Okay, so the effects and art direction are a throwback to the sixties, but it does have some original ideas-the heroes are a motly bunch; all seeking redemption for their wasted lives-, Kinji Fukusaku keeps it belting along at good pace, and once Sonny Chiba starts beating up on the bad guys in the final, there is just no stopping him!