Wild Wild Planet . Austin Chronicle . 08-24-98

Wild Wild Planet

DIRECTED BY: Antonio Margheriti

REVIEWED: 08-24-98

Usually, Italian sci-fi films are about as interesting as a bag of wet hair and about as entertaining as watching paint dry, but here's an exception. This low-budget nonsense involves bald alien androids in wraparound sunglasses, leather capes and Afrika Korps hats, miniaturizing humans at the behest of a mad scientist. The humans are then transported via briefcase to a futuristic scale-model city with dwarves and more androids. All the sets are in gaudy primary colors and with the miniskirts and such, the movie has a very swinginÇ Sixties Euro-mod sort of feel. Some dialogue is either poorly translated or tongue in cheek; during a hand to hand battle with some babe androids, the head guy shouts, "Watch out for those gadgets on their chests!" Or, on examining an attache full of doll-sized humans, a guy says, "They have technology that is beyond our Ken." Get it? This cheapie moves the plot ahead pretty fast and is at least as much fun to watch as, say, a Tohoguy-in-a-rubber-monster-suit-stomping-on-cities movie from the same period. It pops up from time to time on cable, so keep an eye out for it.

--Jerry Renshaw

Other Films by Antonio Margheriti
Death Rage
Invasion of the Flesh Hunters
The Last Hunter

Film Vault Suggested Links
Alien Contamination
Run Lola Run
The Thief

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