Spaceman

'Spaceman' is the consummate low-budget film despite the bad acting, writing, directing, editing, and dubbing. After being drawn into this silly movie I soon realized that it's not bad at all. It takes so many professional shortcuts it actually enhances the humor of this Indie/Hollywood satire. It's the funniest sci-fi, fish-out-of-water, gangster, kung-fu, love story I have ever seen. The entire film revolves around a nerdy-but-deadly, severely obedient, warrior savvy, alien-trained human, who crashes back to earth years after being abducted by aliens as a boy. Watch and laugh as Spaceman searches for a new commander to take orders from while working as a stock-boy and escaping the FBI. Think 'Starman' meets 'The Terminator' meets 'The Sopranos' and you barely come close to describing this wonderfully original and funny film.

This was one of those comedy films where I liked all the characters, especially the young girl who befriends the Spaceman, but there just wasn't enough really funny material to make the film fly. There are some good ideas here, but the director doesn't seem to know if he's making a serious movie or a B movie or a spoor or what. If it was trying to be like the later hit "Lost Skeleton of Cadavra", I'd just have to say it failed mostly because it was too modern in some parts. I heard it was produced by the guy who does "The Onion" but I saw no satire whatsoever here. It wasn't a terrible movie and I didn't find it annoying. In fact I was quite intrigued by the story. But it didn't go in either direction, to become a self-serious B movie like "Hideous Sun Demon" or to spoof itself like Roger Corman's "Bucket of Blood". This film got lost somewhere in the middle, and a slew of decent performances from totally unknown actors went with it. Maybe it was just the very serious tone of the film, I don't know.

At any rate, this film would only be recommended for those who are seriously bored.

This movie's premise was good, however, the director, writer, and actors failed to put out anything that was worth watching. I appreciate the effort of the people involved but I can not recommend this movie by any means. To the director and writer, nice try. I know nothing about making movies but in the future I would focus on dialogue. It was hard to follow the plot because every time someone spoke I just got hung up on how bad the acting and dialogue was. There was one point where I laughed in the movie. It was a sight gag when our main character "space man" or Eugene removed a senior citizen security guard in an escape attempt from the mental ward at a hospital. That gave me a chuckle. On all other accounts this movie was not very good.

This is a great movie....it's clever, nerdy, and the action is totally watchable and over the top. If you have ever sat through a crap genre movie just to laugh your guts out once or twice at how bad the movie is- watch it. Spaceman is intentionally completely packed with those moments and the low budget style is integral to the plot- for instance, the homemade looking bodysuit the Spaceman wears actually looks homemade to the other characters, and allows him to pass for a guy on his way back from a trek convention. Even the cheap sneakers worn with the ridiculous outfit are explained. The writer/director is the editor of "the Onion", so if you're a fan of Americas finest news source, you'll find a similar brand of humor, like a movie ripped right from one of the magazine's headlines. Good stuff.

It's clever, it's quirky, but the amazing thing about this movie is that it exists and it is as well made as it is. It was made for nothing -- $60K -- and yet it has smart camerawork, a solid (and funny) premise, believeable (enough) acting, good lighting, pathos, satire, romance, it's all there. It's not fall-on-the-floor funny for the most part -- it is actually more subtle and deadpan. Somehow, the movie even manages to get some emotions across without being trite or sentimental about it; when Spaceman first looks off into space, longing, hoping for a sign, as an orphan hopes for the return of his parents, it's actually moving. It's weird, and stylish, but never self-conscious. The score verges on bombast but is actually effective at setting the mood -- and the director had the good taste to go with a chamber orchestra rather than taking the easy way out and dropping in a bunch of cheesy synth like many ultra-low-budget movies. Criticisms: it is seems slow, at times, though its deliberate pace does help build atmosphere and contribute to the deadpan strangeness in a Jarmuschy kind of way. Some of the acting is below par (the mob boss and his thugs, for example), but they are minor characters and it can be easily forgiven. The editing is adequate but nothing more, and occasionally seems awkward; also, not a big deal. Be sure to hit the pause button on the DVD during the newspaper articles close-up. All in all a commendable effort for all concerned.