Fugitive Alien

This "movie" is really just several episodes of a Japanese TV show stringed together, and it shows. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever! This was obviously Japanese television's attempt to cash in on the success of "Star Wars." This movie is really badly dubbed as well. Although I think it would be bad subtitled as well.

On the positive end, it was turned onto a really funny MST3K episode. So it's not a total loss!

I very short lived TV series packaged into a movie brought to us by Sandy Frank; who has brought the Gamera films and Time of The Apes overseas. This movie(?) actually isn't all that painful. The plot makes sense, and you can actually tell who the characters are. So it is watchable, just rediculous. Several things aren't explained. Like who exactly these Wolf Raiders are, why they wear wigs to the battlefield, and several behavoiral patterns that just make you go "huh?". Also the hero has the strengh of ten men and can stop forklifts at full acceleration, yet falls down from a clean punch.

The most frustrating thing i found with this movie and plenty of the Sandy Frank films i've seen is this "failed plan" thats in each movie. Here's an example: Our hereo is trapped in prison, so he supports himself up against the top corner of the cell hiding from view. The guard is about to open the door to search the cell and inadvertantly let the captive go. But he spots his foot first, as says "get down from there." end scene. What was the point of that scene? Next he ties an explosive to a cell door to bust it open, and it fails. So we watch him carefully take his time and wire another two explosives to open the door. Another waste of time! It's just disguised film padding.

This movie stands on it's own as something to pass time on a rainy day, but the MST3K version is golden. Probably my favorite episode ever because of Joel Hodgson's dead on and hilarious impersonation of Captain Joe from the movie. No matter which version you watch I'll guarantee you'll be quoting "haa-hahahahahaha-haha-haaahahahaYOU'RESTUCKHERE!"

This is a Japanese production and a pretty good one. Its visually interesting and the plot is easy to follow. I found it to be reasonably entertaining despite a couple of slow spots here and there. There are some campy stuff like the way the characters shrug off tragedy in their lives. The love of Ken's life dies and he pretty much goes on about business without shedding a tear. Captain Joe loses his daughter and Wife and next day he is back at work, eager to get busy. Despite its flaws I enjoyed the look of the show. The ships and space battles look pretty nice, the bad guy looked nasty, and the English dubbing wasn't very distracting. I liked some of the costumes and locations as well. ,,,, You know, to be totally honest about it, if William Shatner had played Captain Joe, there would probably be tons of interest in this neat little science fiction flick. Definitely deserves a much better rating that it gets here. I give it a 5.5...its fun.

FUGITIVE ALIEN is a film apparently edited together from episodes of an obscure 1978 Japanese television series hastily made on the cheap in the post-STAR WARS rush for sci-fi flicks. It goes without saying that the result doesn't make much sense, and it doesn't even have a conclusion - the antics would continue in STAR FORCE: FUGITIVE ALIEN II, which thankfully I haven't seen as yet. Not that I'll be rushing out to buy a copy, because FUGITIVE ALIEN is a pretty abysmal film. Abysmally dull, that is. Although there are space battles, lasers, and people killing each other with would-be light sabers, FUGITIVE ALIEN is one big bore.

For a start, it looks cheap. The interior of the ship is cheap, the planets are cheap, and the special effects are horrendously tacky and inferior. Sure, cheap effects can be a lot of fun, but not here. They just look cheap, poor and unremarkable, with little or no imagination being used on them. People are shot with lasers, flash blue for a couple of seconds and then drop down dead. An effect already clichéd by 1978, when the TV series was made. Watch out for the model spaceship which actually turns transparent for a moment when flying through space. There aren't even as many explosions as you would expect from a Japanese movie.

Another problem is the film's running time - at 103 minutes, it's overlong, and drags incessantly. It invariably feels episodic in nature, with three or four sub-plots (one for each episode) to make things that little bit more confusing. At points the film threatens to becoming an amusing sci-fi variant of the hit TV series THE FUGITIVE, but it always lapses back into mediocre sci-fi action the next minute.

Scenes are ripped off directly from STAR WARS (another bad scene, another guy coming up and saying "I don't like you") and gadgets are stolen from Bond and other assorted spy movies. Sure, a few things are weird - background turning blue, people shining white in dream sequences, the space raiders wearing blonde wigs for some reason under their helmets - but it's never enough. And with cardboard cut-outs for the characters, it's hard to keep watching. I would only recommend this to be watched by small children who are really easily pleased by what they see on television.

Yes, Sandy Frank folks!

Actually, this is definitely one of my favorite japanese B-movies...which was actually TV shows spliced together. The concept is really neat with renegade Star Wolf...Ken didn't want to kill Ken. Get it? Plus, the matchbox and subpar effects are great in a kampy way and the star wars "homages" are funny! It was definitely a show that fit right in on the SOL which kampy in its own way too!

You gotta love the conflict in this film...Ken and Star Wolves, Ken and Rocky..whereas this ragtag crew become earth's top defenders. Do not miss the infamous "forklift" scene and the sequel: Starforce: Fugitive Alien 2.

Still way better than Space Mutiny.