Roswell: The Aliens Attack (1999 TV Movie) User Reviews

Not what you'd expect

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 18 June 2015]

I have to admit that the title for this 1990s TV movie is pretty cool and it sets up a situation which never actually arises. Instead, the narrative of this film sees a couple of aliens escape from Roswell. They disguise themselves as humans - one male, one female - and split up, going on different routes. The female is determined to destroy the planet while the male ends up falling in love with an Earthling and becoming a father figure to her child.

It's all very cheesy and low rent, focusing on romantic situations rather than the alien combat stuff you'd hope for. It doesn't help that the cast is universally poor, particularly from the stiff guy playing the male alien, and a lot of it feels twee and rather schmaltzy. The script is very much by the book, and there are few scenes of genuine incident or special effects to make this resemble a science fiction movie in any way, shape, or form. Instead it's a bore of a film, and one to be avoided in all instances.

Smelly

[TheOtherFool · 2/10 · 10 April 2004]

Let's say, there is a UFO falling from the sky. There's a man laying on the ground miles from civilization, without transportation. This man claims to be a hot-shot scientist, but acts weird, only knows a couple of words in English and doesn't understand a simple joke or remark. What do you do?

The answer is: you fall in love with him! This is what the widowed Katie does anyway, although one wonders why, as alien John's only contribution to their conversations is 'yes' or 'no' (although a cynic would say that's the perfect partner). Good thing though that the aliens apparently speak English to each other, it's the best way to learn the language, folks...

Oh I forgot what the aliens (there's 2 of them, John and a female) want. Well, what do all aliens want... they want to destroy the planet. To do so they recharge an atomic bomb (?) so that the whole world will explode (erm... I didn't get that either). This bomb is on a military base in Roswell, New Mexico, home of the UFO.

Back to the story then. Conflicts start when alien-guy John likes Katie and her son as well and thinks this whole blowing-up-the-planet thing is immoral. His female buddy from outer space Eve thinks otherwise though... Meanwhile the military guys find out he's an imposter (finally checked his records, guys?), while the bomb keeps ticking...

Now John and Katie team up to find Eve and stop her from detonating the bomb. Love it when John tells Katie he's an alien: 'I came here to destroy the planet, but I changed my mind (!)'. From that point the movie which is already ludicrous takes some more stupid turns, which includes a silly fight and a countdown-sequence you only see in old Bond movies, but then worse. Notice this: it takes that stupid bomb about 30 seconds to verify (!) a code...

The actors try but this pile of dung can't be saved, no matter what actors you'd use. Kate Greenhouse is a Heather Nova look-a-like (anybody else notice), playing the Katie person and Steven Flynn has no problems using a single facial impression on the John guy. But that's not where the movie goes wrong. We're way past that point...

A cheap TV movie, this one: 2/10.

Warning all humans ... avoid at all costs ... this is rotten beyond belief ...

[redfern-2 · 25 September 2000]

This was packaged pretty well and promised an interesting spin on an interesting story - the alleged discovery and subsequent cover-up of a crashed alien spacecraft in New Mexico 1947. Anyway what you get is rubbish of the highest order and as soon as the cheap "fluoro green eyes" special effect is used to identify the aliens then you know what you're in for. Two human shaped aliens walk out of the crash - one male the other female. Well the male falls in love with a widowed airforce base worker and the female goes on a sex spree, and there is much disagreement between male and female on whether to blow up the earth. Won't give away the ending but it is so loaded with sweetness you'll want to be sick. There's also a hand-held alien gadget which shoots people, uploads information, downloads information, fries peoples brains, and heals people (most with a voice that sounds like the "good morning" you hear in some elevators).

Take my advice - give this one a wide berth ...

Notable only for most of the acting

[TheLittleSongbird · 2/10 · 19 August 2013]

The best aspect of Roswell: The Aliens Attack is Kate Greenhouse, she is very good in her role and is beautiful to boot. The supporting roles of Brent Stait, Sean McCann and Donnelly Rhodes are also well taken. Not all the acting is as successful. Steven Flynn plays a character that is too nice and somewhat too compassionate and is unconvincing even doing that, he is very stiff throughout with a very limited emotional range. Heather Hanson is not helped by a character that is so vapid that it borders on absurdity, but while she is good doing sultry and seductive that's all she's good at seemingly. Visually it is not exactly amateurish but there's never really much that comes across as interesting, and we got the message very quickly that Kate Greenhouse was a beauty, we didn't need as many shots and close-ups as we did. The special effects are wisely used sparsely but that seemed to be an excuse to not put effort into constructing them at the same time. The soundtrack tended to be on the heavy and pedestrian side, nothing much that was memorable or subtly done. The dialogue is contrived and rather cheesy, with Heather Hanson's lines especially cringe-worthy, a lot of it is stuff that we've heard before but better incorporated and delivered, while the direction is flat in character and plodding. Narratively, Roswell: The Aliens Attack is a mess. The moral conflict is not convincing, not helped by a too-nice lead character, the tension and drama is contrived and lacking in suspense, the ending is so overly-sentimental and saccharine that it will induce toothache, and in the end all of it was predictable, ham-fisted and dull. There are some good enough ideas here, but they're never elaborated upon, such a shameful waste of good potential. The characters are not the obnoxious kind, but rather underdeveloped and devoid of personality. Overall, a very poor movie but the acting from most is quite good. 2/10 Bethany Cox

Entertaining despite it's many faults.

[CharltonBoy · 6/10 · 5 February 2002]

Roswell:The Aliens attack is one of those films that is so poor is lots of different ways that it has a certain charm and you cant help but like it despite all it's faults. It is the story of aliens that land in Roswell , Where else!,and their mission is to destroy earth by detonating an atom bomb held on the army base big enough to destroy the earth. There are so many holes in the story that it would take ages to go through them but here are a few questions that have to be asked. 1.Why when the aliens had the technology to come to earth did they not have the know how to blow the planet up without using 1940's weaponary? 2.Why was the bomb stored in the middle of what looked like a school gym with the army's youngest member keeping guard? 3.Why did the widow take such a shine to the male alien when he hardly spoke and didnt even smile? Was she that desperate to get laid? 4.Who were the aliens that were found dead? These are just some of the questions that spring to mind and believe me there are many more. The acting is not bad at all ,which is a suprise considering the laughable script. If you can suspend belief in reality and the fact that story is so silly you might actually like this. 6 out of 10.

Good film!

[Movie Nuttball · 10/10 · 17 March 2005]

Roswell: The Aliens Attack is a very good film that has a good cast includes Steven Flynn, Kate Greenhouse, Heather Hanson, Brent Stait, Sean McCann, Donnelly Rhodes, Ben Baxter, Robert Huculak. The acting by all of these actors is very good especially by Paré and Allen I thought The mystery is good and some of it is surprising. The movie is filmed good. The music is great. The film is quite interesting and the movie really keeps you going until the end. This is a very good and thrilling film. If you like Steven Flynn, Kate Greenhouse, Heather Hanson, the rest of the cast in the film, Action, Science Fiction, Thrillers, Mysteries, and interesting films then I strongly recommend you to see this film today!

Movie Nuttball's NOTE:

If you like alien movies and/or the subject of aliens I also recommend the following films: The Thing from another World, The War of the Worlds, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Horror Express, The UFO Incident, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, John Carpenter's The Thing, Krull, Time Walker, My Science Project, Howard the Duck, John Carpenter's Starman, John Carpenter's They Live, Mac and Me, Explorers, Invaders from Mars, Alien Seed, Total Recall, The Abyss, Communion, Suburban Commando, Fire in the Sky, The Arrival, Mars Attacks! Men in Black I & 2, Stephen King's Dreamcatcher, Xtro 3: Watch the Skies, Battlefield Earth: A Saga for the year 3000, Impostor, Stargate, The Puppet Masters, John Carpenter's Village of the Damned, Independence Day, Life Form, The X-Files: Fight the Future, The Faculty, Mission to Mars, Evolution, K-Pax, Signs, Silent Warnings, Alien Hunter, Spaceballs, Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, Predator & Predator 2, AVP: Alien Vs. Predator, The entire Star Wars saga (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, The Return of the Jedi (Original and Special Editions!), The Phantom Menace, & Attack of the Clones), the entire Star Trek movie saga (Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, The Voyage Home, The Final Frontier, The Undiscovered Country, Generations, First Contact, Insurrection, & Nemesis) and Stephen King's IT!

Disappointing on many levels, but I'd watch it again - Spoilers

[borg1005 · 6/10 · 15 July 2003]

Reporting from the Land of Area 51. This movie ticked me off. Despite the Geez-not-another-Roswell-movie, based on the subtitle "The Aliens Attack", I broke out a beer and was all set to watch BEMs (Bug Eyed Monsters) depopulate the earth. Instead there were only two dead "geys", two humanoids, little action and a trite countdown scene.

The early dialogue blew it for me when the alien craft was referred to as a "Flying Saucer" instead of "Flying Disk", which was the term in those days. Then the alien hand-held whiz-bang device - it reminded me of a miniature of a light sold in the department stores. The kind that you put in dark closets and press the lens to turn on. Not very high-tech for people who cross space destroying planetary life forms.

Buried in the lackluster script are some neat ideas that should have been expanded upon and perhaps might have saved this film. Consider these lost opportunities, which caused my disappointment:

The dead "greys" are part human and part machine, designed to run the spaceship while the "human" aliens hibernate over the long trip. The autopsy scene on the base cried out for a takeoff on that bogus "Alien Autopsy" tape but the director gave it just a glancing blow.

Eve, the other alien (Heather Hanson): "Some people hired us. They want the planet, but not the people." Interesting concept that is a departure from the "we want to colonize earth" gambit. WHO are the "some people"? A twist would have been to have "Them" send a alien version of Mr. Lefty and Mr. Fingers to track down the two live aliens to ask "What's takin' youse so long?" A chase within a chase to liven things up.

"You look just like us." Katie says upon learning her beau is an alien. "No, YOU look just like US." he replies. A great place to insert a "we are your ancestors" scene, but that concept is only mentioned as a throwaway at the end.

A couple of shots make you notice the hangar where the Bomb is located - number "84". Another blown opportunity. The number should have "18" (where alien bodies were supposed to have been kept) to tie in with current conspiracy theories.

Over all, the acting is surprisingly good, with the exception of John Deerman (Steven Flynn, who takes his alias from a farm tractor). His acting was mechanical and wooden and at first I thought that was the alien character he was playing - along the lines of "the emotionless alien discovers earthlike emotions and changes sides". Well, he changes sides al l right (Kate Greenhouse does that to you) but he was wooden to the end. Maybe he just had a bad day - he has a pretty good string of creditable parts.

The female alien (Heather Hansen) plays a stereotyped hard-hearted partner. That being said, I would STILL chance a night with her despite what happened to the salesman (David Brown, who plays a nice lecherous part). After his departure his samples provide her with the revealing dress she sports for the rest of the movie. There's a neat scene where she decides which one to wear while he evaporates in the bathroom.

The rest of the cast is very good. I don't know if it's the water or the gene pool, but Canada turns out some very fine character actors. The colonel (Sean McCann) plays a surprisinly level-headed officer - usually the military is portrayed as blithering idiots in these movies who are only saved by the clear-headed hero/heroine.

Captain Phillips (Brent Stait) is suitably nasty as the security officer. You don't want to cross this guy. Donnelly Rhodes does a first rate job as the father who fears he's going to lose everything because of his daughter's infatuation with Mr. Deerman (Dearman in the credits). I keep thinking I've seen him somewhere else, and I have. Mr. Rhodes has a filmography as long as you arm in film and TV.

I saved the best for last, and she is the reason I will watch this film again - Kate Greenhouse as Tyler's daughter, Katie. What a sweetheart! Typical girl-next-door, a part she's plays a lot, but hey, go with your strength. It will be a pleasure to see this actress play other less sugary roles but she is such a natural here. I think I am in love.

Once you suspend belief though, it's not too bad - just go with the flow. Ignore the ridiculously easy way the aliens get on base and then wander around without too much of a challenge. The Bomb is a good copy of the "Fat Man" bomb they dropped on WWII Japan, but it is placed in hangar 84 with just one locked door between it and any bad guy. It's also placed in the center of the room and sticks out like a sore thumb. It is held by a puny chain and supported on a flimsy-looking stand, which I expected to collapse and send the Bomb rolling all over the place. It DOES eventually drop and squash the delectable but hard-as-nails Eve. In some ways I hated to see her go - her role was a nice corny counterpoint which she seemed to play with relish.

If you're into ca. 1940 cars, the movie is eye candy in that respect. Whoever supplied the props did a good job - there's even an old P-51 Mustang fighter in some scenes. A nice period touch.

There are enough saving graces (and shots of Kate Greenhouse) to warrant a first and perhaps a second viewing. IMHO it rates a 2 or 2 1/2 on the scale. Not the best in this overdone genre but surely not the worst.

Although Using Elements of "Starman" and Other Sci-Fi Movies, It is a Good Film

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 19 March 2005]

In 1947, in Roswell, New Mexico, after a collision in the sky, two alien spacecrafts, one of them intact, and two dead gray small aliens are retrieved by and stored in a military base, waiting for some experts from Washington to analyze what they might be. Meanwhile, two aliens having human appearance arrive in the military base, both of them with a mission of activating a nuclear bomb and destroy Earth planet. While increasing the power of the weapon and preparing to activate it, the alien John Deerman (Steven Flynn) meets and likes the local widow Katie Harras (Greenhouse) and her son, Sam, and decides not destroying the planet. However, the other one, the sexy Eve (Heather Hanson), keeps resolute in the original plan of blowing up the planet. "Roswell: The Aliens Attack" is not a masterpiece or a movie to be nominated to an Oscar. Although using elements of many sci-fi stories, mainly the romance of "Starman", it is a good film. There are flaws in the story, but it is also very attractive and in the end it is a good entertainment. I believe that real fans of this genre will not be disappointed. There are some unfair reviews in IMDb. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Roswell: Ataque Alienígena" ("Roswell: Alien Attack")

One of those movies you end up watching at 11:00 at night...

[Chromium_5 · 4 September 2004]

Two aliens, a man and a woman, come to Earth wanting to blow it up (you can tell they're aliens because they can turn their eyes green). The man alien befriends a woman and her son and changes his mind, but the evil woman alien stays with the mission, while dabbling in prostitution. Then the man alien has to stop her.

The corniest part of the movie is the little hand-held tool the aliens use. It apparently can do ANYTHING. All you have to do is hold it up, and it does what you want: uses tiny lasers to pinpoint a specific location on a paper road map, shoots people, whatever. Exactly what kind of technology is THAT? Why couldn't the aliens just hold it up and command it to blow up the earth? Instead they have to go to a military base and "recharge" an atomic bomb.

Definitely not high-quality material, but it's one of those movies to watch late at night when nothing else is on. I watched it just to see what happened, which I guess is good, because it means the movie kept my interest. I'll give it a solid 5/10 stars for giving me something to do.

Rubbish title, surprisingly good film.

[PHASEDK · 9/10 · 21 May 2011]

As usual I missed the start, UK satellite Horror Channel but I saw most of it and IT kept me interested. Some of these comments have made me realise some people didn't listen or watch properly. There were answers, as some others have now said. Some women may find the, quiet,mystery man different.. that made me laugh. So he has a gismo that can do things. When the woman hes with turns up, aha, good twist.. fact is I recognised many 'facts' mentioned, and it made a change to have an educated, 'seen it all' type base boss. I found none of this impossible. It was a good alternate story of what could have happened at Rosswell and for all we know did. NO one apart from those there at the time know? The end narrative..jump to 'now' when the story was being told from.. again, food for thought for anyone who may still wonder if its possible. Shame more of us haven't the brain to at least wonder.. sci fi often predicts the future, Star Trek manuals.. they make sense, Roddenberry still makes me wonder if he knew more. The people that wrote the manuals.. known physics expanded. Thoroughly well made over all. Sparce special effects, just what was needed. Kids now expect more. We remember cardboard boulders from Trek and the Brit earlier TV sci fi limited budgets.. they had charm. I'd recommend this film to anyone, but the title, the impression of an 'Indepndance Day' attack.. nope.