Robot Overlords

The whole back story of this British sci-fi family film was summarized in a few frames flashed at the very beginning. "Three years ago... the Robots invaded Earth." "The war lasted just eleven days." Then a strange robotic being with an adult female face, a little boy's body and a disembodied voice declares that they mean Earth no harm. After their study of humanity, they will leave and never come back. They only have one strict rule for the earthlings to follow during their occupation: "Stay indoors!"

The story follows a group of teenagers led by Sean Flynn (Callan McAuliffe) who defy the robots, venturing out of the safety to his home to search for his lost father. Hot in pursuit is the ruthless Robin Smythe (a hammy Ben Kingsley), a human who had allied himself with the aliens. But Smythe is distracted by his attraction to Sean's mother Kate, (and I do not blame him as Kate was played by Gillian Anderson).

When we first saw the trailer for this film, I had no plans to watch it because it looked like a low-budget B-action flick with robots and unknown young actors. Indeed it was juvenile and very old-fashioned sci- fi, like something we could have seen on TV years back. The story could have been interesting, but the execution was not good, even cheesy. The corny title alone is a red flag that this is strictly for young teens, yet even they might find the technological aspects of this film too retro to be cool.

I only watched this film when I found out that Gillian Anderson would be in it. And yes, despite twenty years that passed since she gained me as a fan as Scully in "The X-Files," Ms. Anderson never looked better. She looked so good that it was not believable that she was the mother of McAuliffe. It was just too bad that her role here was too weak and insubstantial to merit her beauty and talent.

I would have rated this film lower, but only because of Gillian Anderson, I will be a little bit more generous and give it a 4/10.

Well let me see -

1. There's no Yanks in it. 2. The Yanks aren't saving the world for a change 3. Gillian Anderson is in it 4. Sir Ben Kingsley is in it 5. Milo (Gerald Durrell) Parker is in it (first film) 6. Stephen Mackintosh is in it (just about) 7. There's no half naked girl running around screaming 8. There's not Yanks in it. 9. Did I say the Yanks aren't saving the world for a change

Okay the story is well trodden but the Yanks keep on making it so why can't the British? Previous reviewers cite bad acting, seriously? the above mentioned do a cellar job with a so, so script. Plot holes ok a few like if the humans have to stay in doors how do they get fed? but small gripes.

Loved the scene with the Spitfire. For this kind of film it's way above what the Sci-fi channel churn out on a regular basis, ignore the bad reviews, if you compare it to those others it's soooo much better.

I've never posted a review before.

I'm sick to death of reading reviews from nobodies full of self-aggrandising rubbish of the look-at-me-I'm-so-knowledgeable kind.

When I read IMDb reviews I want to know the answer to one question: is this film worth watching.

Answer: Yes.

Extra comment for people who need more: It is not blade runner nor star wars nor aliens nor any other visually stunning or game changing movie. It was fun to watch as long as you remember it a film for kids. Yes the story is the same basic good fights evil that, um, oh yes, 90% of all movies released in the last 20 years are about. So what. It was entertaining, it was refreshing to see a SciFi film not set in the NewYork or some other major US city. Why should every Alien invasion land on the white house lawn. I liked it. My kids liked it. We were entertained.

This movie is not amazing. But then again, when was the last time you saw one that was?

Fantastic Four opened just before the the writing of this. With that film being a complete disaster, it saddens me that it gets just about a lower score than Robot Overlords, because the latter is far superior.

What to expect: Good but not incredible CGI (again, far more believable than FF'S The Thing...or anything else in it for that matter...) Good acting: Ben Kingsley and Gillian Anderson are great, and the kids are surprisingly good too. Good pacing: I didn't get bored at any point. That's quite rare nowadays. A cliché story, kept fresh by the fact that it's British. Personally, I enjoyed this more than The World's End; darn it - I actually felt a little bit invested.

Nothing more to say than that I guess. This is low-budget done right, and I enjoyed it. What more do you want? A cookie?

The title, Robot Overlords, alone already indicates that this is the campiest movie to exist in this generation, too dated that it would be an amusement for today's common moviegoers. It sounds like one of those generic fake films that are typically featured in romcoms or teens movies where it has a scenario in a movie theater, because apparently the production couldn't afford product placing an actual film, or basically just portraying or satirizing what the mass choose to pay for their price admissions. Robot Overlords does sum up with that standard, it's formulaic about its own plot: an evil force, unlikely heroes, a protagonist who has something special inside him which becomes the only hope to save the day. It's a total cliché, but this is one of those where people could shrug them off and see the charm of this little fodder. As a B-movie (for the "Family" genre in particular), it may have one of those corny qualities, but there is an appropriate amount of fun. There's nothing novel about it in the end, but this is a film that intentionally gives you the pleasure to turn off your brain.

Aside of its title, the movie seems totally committed to be this cheesy, but that doesn't let the negativity get in the way. The storyline is totally simple, it never tries to say something deeper or political or something else. Dystopian future movies tend to bring up something thought-provoking, but this film just sticks to the classic saving-the- world premise. And for once, it feels refreshing, specifically for not stopping by providing an overlong sentimental drama or a romantic subplot. The characters are only on a quest where they are often encountering robots, other ridiculous ideas and little twists that don't betray what it has setup. Otherwise, there is nothing actually special about it, but there's a real momentum that makes it easy to watch. When the robots start clashing, it gets too loud, the effects look good enough for a B-movie, bringing a sense of scale for these typically designed machines. but the shining moments are basically when the heroes are finding new discoveries in this world, it's basically just embracing what this should be an adventurous ride.

And just like any generic action film, the hero is the good-looking white guy. There is also a girl (who thankfully isn't mainly designed for love interest, since it totally shoehorned the romantic subplot) and the comic relief best friend. And there is a little kid, and this kid is always curious, because why not? The only interesting character side here is the villain who is attracted with the hero's mother, which brings an intriguing little extra conflict. The acting is B-movie at best; Callan McAuliffe has everything you would ask for a bland protagonist. While Ben Kingsley is delightful as the performance slowly hams it up the more the villain unmasks his true colors.

Robot Overlords might be too lame for this era of an even more convincing and edgier blockbusters. Movies like this would easily be groaned at and we can already see why. And for some reason, the film seems aware of its own trashiness and instead makes a simple fun out of it. Unlike many dumb B-movies out there that doesn't accept its absurdity by glossing it over with gravity that makes no sense until it stops being watchable, this film at least has the joy over its preposterous nature; the hero kids do impossible things, the villain sneers his plans, and they're against giant robots. But again, there's nothing brilliant about it, it never gave us anything meaningful in the end, but it sure is amazing seeing a movie like Robot Overlords that is confident enough to be released in today's blockbuster cinema.