Rating: Summary: Schlock. Review: This is what happens when a TV network gets hold of a halfway decent science fiction idea. Too much corporate meddling. The basic premise - that 50 gigantic flying saucers that appear in the skies over major cities all over the world and are instantly accepted as friendly - was ludicrous. The secret reason they came - MARS WANTS YOUR WATER - was stupid beyond belief. You want water? Fly out to the Oort Cloud surrounding your own solar system and mine it by the ice-asteroid load.The humans and aliens were cartoonish characatures, unworthy of a saturday morning cartoon. The most impressive "special effect" they came up with was an Alien Babe (tm) gulping down a live rat. And the Deuz Ex Machina ending to the series was awful. The only thing worse than this mini-series was the pathetic TV series they tried to follow it up with.
Rating: Summary: Meaning vs. mindless action - still the best mini-series Review: I remember watching this mini-series more than 15 years ago and how much i enjoyed it then for the entertainment value (I was only in elementary school). Now I can enjoy it for its entertainment value AND meaning. Too many movies today concentrate on creating great special effects and, at the same time, sacrificing meaning or a decent plot. If you want a movie with great special effects (and nothing else) then skip buying this series. However, if you want a movie with good acting (although none of the cast were well known; except for Marc Singer and Michael Ironside), decent plots, a fantastic story and decent special effects (for its time) then BUY THIS MOVIE.
Rating: Summary: Great story with a "flawed ending" Review: I remember watching this series when I was a teenager and (still) being the sci-fi geek back in High School absorbed both episodes avidly. Who could beat the great story lines and as mentioned earlier the classic sci-fi social issues of the day. I always remember those "TV broadcasts" that would document the resistances successes, I think these pre-cursored Robocop's TV commercials... To this day, I remember the billboards around LA which just had the spray painted "V" and was wondering what the hell was that? Anyway, the only weak point has to be the conclusion. I won't give it away but it seemed as if they "ran out of money" and needed to end it quick. Oh well the build up was worth it...
Rating: Summary: Alone Out There Review: I thought I was the only one who was addicted to this mini-series. I am so excited that I will now have the whole collection on DVD. But I have to admit, I wasn't too crazy about the short lived series. Nothing could beat the original mini-series and its conclusion.
Rating: Summary: Resistance is futile!! Review: Since I got the first one DVD and got some insight into Kenneth Johnson's mind concerning the second part, I doubt I will look at The Final Battle the same way again. Don't get me wrong however, it's still a masterpiece in it's own right. You can definitely tell though that Warner was making a step in the wrong direction. Waaaay too much fantasy and far-reaching exploits than I would like to believe. Once the weekly series hit the ground, it didn't run....it stumbled and fell into the quicksand better known as cancellation. I was quite surprised of the lengthy run it DID have on TV. Regardless....this is probably the last good memory that we can have of it on record (I suppose I could throw in the season debut for the actual weekly series which I thought was done marginally) and now we can enjoy it in the most popular format. I can accuse Warner Home Video of one thing: not taking the time to put serious quality into the production of the DVD. Ken Johnson meticuously went over the original audio tracks, digitally enhanced them and remixed them to give it an updated fuller sound than ever experienced. Here, we are handed Dolby Digital 2.0 and a "just deal with it" card. Prehaps they might release a Criterion Edition and make up for lost quality. I also believe that there would at least be more behind-the-scenes footage to mete out than what has been done in the past. I could go on and on about this but I won't. Simply buy it to complete and continue the Original Miniseries and that's it.
Rating: Summary: Just One Correction Review: I think this series was wonderfully done! I really sit on the edge of my seat every time I see it. One quick correction though, Kenneth Johnson did assist in the writing. He just did it under a different name. The name was Lillian Weezer. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Sci-Fi. The plot is rivoting and the characters are believable. Just make sure you see the Mini-Series first. Great show I say!!
Rating: Summary: V is the Best TV SCI-FI saga ever. Review: I Think v was really well done. I've been waiting for this sequal for a long time on DVD. I will enjoy this. It wasn't as good as the first one, but nethertheless a good movie. It wasn't as good because it lost Kenneth Johnson. He did a great job with the miniseries. Hopefully this will feature a commentary like the first one did. Marc and Faye were great as usual, More Action and see Julie almost get converted by Diana. Elisibeth was born and meet another band of resistance fighters. I can't wait to get this on DVD. So get this and maybe Warner will give us the Series on DVD as well. I think V is the best 80s TV saga of all time and the best miniseries ever. It was also great because we take so much for granit and we don't really appreciate what we have til it's gone. Oh I'm speaking of our water. I also like V because of the of the earthlings and the Visitors defecting to either side. I think Jenny Sullivan should of had a bigger role in the final Battle. She was great in the Miniseries and Martin was as well. The 5th column was great!
Rating: Summary: The Sequel to V 1983 Review: This is the 1984 Sequel to the 1983 Miniseries V. I must see for fans of Micheal Ironside. He played Ham Tyler in V the Final Battle. Micheal Ironside's is best known for his work in Top Gun and Total Recall.
Rating: Summary: Enjoyable sequel. Review: The sequel to the very popular original miniseries chronicles the ongoing skirmishes between the reptilian invaders and the human resistance. The Final Battle suffers from some shoddy effects work (mainly the alien baby), an ordinary script, a couple of sappy and boring sub-plots (the romance angle among some of the Resistance members, the childish bantering among Diana and Pamela, the two feisty female Visitors), and a weak ending, but is generally entertaining and effective due to good and plentiful action (more than in the original, though proportionately the same) and decent performances from Marc Singer and Michael Ironside, who make an effective and often amusing ally/enemy duo.
Rating: Summary: Better than V, but what does that say? Review: ...suprisingly enough, this sequel is pretty bearable. For one thing, the WWII allegory is muted, thankfully. For another, since we've already been introduced to the characters, we DON'T have to find out more uninteresting and annoying things about them than we have to. This film's also got two good performances, as opposed to just one in its predecessor (a la Marc Singer). Here, Singer is teamed up with Michael Ironside, playing the same character he pretty much plays in every other sci-fi flick he's in but he's always pretty good at playing the same role. Another positive are the action scenes, which really are pretty well-choreographed and enjoyable. I might have actually awarded this another star if not for the horrendous ending, which blows any chance of redeeming this film. Want my opinion? Probably not, but I would say that this whole series could have used much better writing, more imagination, and probably a larger budget, but I suppose I should forgive its...special effects considering it was made back in 1984...
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