The basic premise is intriguing but extremely far-fetched. I am not even referring to the scientific aspects of it, which are fine because this is sci-fi after all, but the incredibly naive Disney-like assumption that one damn alien is going to accomplish what nobody could ever do, and something nobody WON'T ever do: unite all of mankind.
One of those "It's A Small World After All" laughably idealistic set-ups. (In case you don't know, this is the title of a goofy, catchy children's song that was played at Disneyland and/or Disneyworld way back when. I suppose you could call it the proto-anthem for Cultural Marxism, devised to brainwash impressionable dumb kiddies. Dumb 'em down while they're still young, that always works...)
The STUPID Disney-like assumption that nations fight each other out of boredom or because they have nobody else to fight but each other, is awfully ignorant, child-like even. It's ignorant of the very plain facts that territorial concerns (i.e. Limited space on this planet), limited resources, political power, vital energy sources, and other financial concerns will always be constants, i.e. Will always be key factors in human existence hence in international relations, which is why there will always be armed conflicts. No damn silly fake alien could ever change these realities.
At best, an outside threat (and I mean a REAL threat including 100s of UFOs hovering above cities) could unify humans for a certain time period, but after a while things would go back to normal (providing we beat the alien invaders), to where they always were and always will be: competition. Whether it be humans, animals or plants, all living creatures are engaged in a perpetual, hellish game of survival which involves competition, among themselves and against other species. Anybody who actually believes that this natural order of things could be changed in some Utopian-like quasi-artificial future must be a gullible, stupid left-winger. And the fact that Marxist Hemingway, of all people, gets quoted here, says it all really about the intelligence and political affiliations of this run-of-the-mill Hollywood writer.
After a promising start, the plot suddenly starts crawling at a snail's pace. I found myself bored with the detailed metamorphosis and the soapy drama that accompanies it. Way too pathetic, sentimental and preachy for me. Once the plot finally resumes, things got so dumb I simply lost interest, once again.
This sort of bizarre, silly story would be ideal for "Astounding Stories" or any other old sci-fi comic-book serial, but it cannot translate to the screen because way too absurd and dumb.
What's that monkey-like gremlin thing they used to turn Culp into an alien? Where did they find it? And why is Culp's wife somehow connected ESP-wise to him? How is it that she can simply waltz into these "secret" labs whenever she feels like it? How the hell did Culp manage to drag his clumsy alien self from the crash site all the way to the lab - and while mortally wounded?! Why would the crash-site be so closely located to the labs? The story is full of nonsense, which I guess is why it got a high rating by TOListas.
This "genius" team of noble but laughably deluded scientists concocted this incredibly complex, risky, far-fetched plan, only to be screwed over by a couple of random hunters! This should have been a comedy. Just delete the pathetic, moral speeches and you're halfway there.
Check out my TOL list, with reviews of all the episodes.
One of those "It's A Small World After All" laughably idealistic set-ups. (In case you don't know, this is the title of a goofy, catchy children's song that was played at Disneyland and/or Disneyworld way back when. I suppose you could call it the proto-anthem for Cultural Marxism, devised to brainwash impressionable dumb kiddies. Dumb 'em down while they're still young, that always works...)
The STUPID Disney-like assumption that nations fight each other out of boredom or because they have nobody else to fight but each other, is awfully ignorant, child-like even. It's ignorant of the very plain facts that territorial concerns (i.e. Limited space on this planet), limited resources, political power, vital energy sources, and other financial concerns will always be constants, i.e. Will always be key factors in human existence hence in international relations, which is why there will always be armed conflicts. No damn silly fake alien could ever change these realities.
At best, an outside threat (and I mean a REAL threat including 100s of UFOs hovering above cities) could unify humans for a certain time period, but after a while things would go back to normal (providing we beat the alien invaders), to where they always were and always will be: competition. Whether it be humans, animals or plants, all living creatures are engaged in a perpetual, hellish game of survival which involves competition, among themselves and against other species. Anybody who actually believes that this natural order of things could be changed in some Utopian-like quasi-artificial future must be a gullible, stupid left-winger. And the fact that Marxist Hemingway, of all people, gets quoted here, says it all really about the intelligence and political affiliations of this run-of-the-mill Hollywood writer.
After a promising start, the plot suddenly starts crawling at a snail's pace. I found myself bored with the detailed metamorphosis and the soapy drama that accompanies it. Way too pathetic, sentimental and preachy for me. Once the plot finally resumes, things got so dumb I simply lost interest, once again.
This sort of bizarre, silly story would be ideal for "Astounding Stories" or any other old sci-fi comic-book serial, but it cannot translate to the screen because way too absurd and dumb.
What's that monkey-like gremlin thing they used to turn Culp into an alien? Where did they find it? And why is Culp's wife somehow connected ESP-wise to him? How is it that she can simply waltz into these "secret" labs whenever she feels like it? How the hell did Culp manage to drag his clumsy alien self from the crash site all the way to the lab - and while mortally wounded?! Why would the crash-site be so closely located to the labs? The story is full of nonsense, which I guess is why it got a high rating by TOListas.
This "genius" team of noble but laughably deluded scientists concocted this incredibly complex, risky, far-fetched plan, only to be screwed over by a couple of random hunters! This should have been a comedy. Just delete the pathetic, moral speeches and you're halfway there.
Check out my TOL list, with reviews of all the episodes.