A strange craft spying on industrialist Bryant's plant is brought down by Bryant's new atomic ray. Bryant meets the one survivor… Mota from the planet Mars! Not exactly benevolent, Mota enlists the aid of Bryant (a former Nazi) in a scheme to bring Earth under control of a supreme dictator, for its own good of course, using advanced atomic weapons. But their attempts to steal uranium alert Kent Fowler of Fowler Air Patrol, who sets out singlehanded to foil the villains. Fist-fights and wrecks in every episode. A single-handed hero sets himself against Martians trying to assume control of Earth. This one is absolutely "so bad, it's good". The characters are wooden, the dialog stiff, the plot contrived. All in all, it's one of the most entertaining films I have in my vast collection of classic sci-fi space movies. Sure, there isn't a whole lot of outer space in it, and few rockets…and way too many fist fights where nobody's hat falls off. But the leaps in logic, the never-ending stream of vehicles that the characters drive, the bad line deliveries…all worth the price you pay. On the truly plus side: it is beautifully photographed, and the editing is pretty tight. Personally, I can't wait till this one comes out in DVD. I consider this one better than the Commando Cody serials (1951, 1953), and I'm a big Cody fan. The only thing missing is Judd Holdren (Captain Video, Zombies from the Stratosphere, etc.). Delightful. Mota arrives on Earth from Mars, and takes into confidence manufacturer Bryant (a one time Nazi sympathizer) to launch a wave of destruction that will overwhelm Earth and put the planet under a Martian supreme dictator. Aerial patrolman Kent Fowler sees the theft going around Bryant's plant (by his two henchmen Drake and Ryan) and goes to stop the sabotage despite that his employer Bryant is the real criminal. Eventually Mota and Bryant develop their weapons to such a degree that they are able to start their campaign of destruction, unless Kent can stop them. Republic really threw in generous amounts of stock footage (I counted at least 4 different serials) to help overcome this corny script. The acting is pretty much wooden (even with veterans like Reed, Craven, and Lauter) and Gregory Gay makes for one of Republic's worst and most laughable villains. It's still entertaining enough, but pretty much an egg. Rating, based on serials, 3.5.
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295 weeks ago