Xtro 3: Watch the Skies

I like Sci-Fi movies and everything 'bout it and aliens, so i watched this flick. Nothing new, nothing special, average acting, typical H. B. Davenport' story, weak and cheesy FX's, bad ending of movie, but still the author idea is good. The marines on lost island find the truth about alien landing there and truth about past-experiments on them. They die one after one, some of them were killed by lonely alien, and others by human enemies. UFO effects, when it flees and crushes are bad,too. The voices of angry alien are funny,too. Reminds me on young monkeys. The movie is not scary, not very funny (maybe the old man, which marines find on the lost island, is the funniest freak in the movie. He's all confused and he dances all the time like old drunk). A little better sequel than XTRO 2: Second Encounter and 3-times weakest than the original movie. As I say "for the hardest fans only".

I rented a bunch of sci-fi movies last Saturday and was surprised that two were outstanding afternoon fare. I don't know about the previous parts of Xtro but Part three had it all. Good special effects, a worthy script, fine acting and some interesting direction. I liked everyone, character wise. The plot made sense. Marines are sent to a Pacific island to rid it of WW II mines - but they were really sent to find the sole survivor of an old air force secret and the Marines finds themselves at the mercy of a chameleon-like alien locked up (not for long) in a block of cement. The flash back sequence, the humorous filmreel at the start of the film and the story within a story worked well. I had a good time. Sci-Fi's only...........

Lieutenant Marin Kim (Sal Landi) tells his story to a reporter of how he accompanied Captain Fetterman (Andrew Divoff) to an island 200 miles off the coast of the United States allegedly to clear the island of explosive ordinance, but once there with his team they uncover an extraterrestrial secret left forgotten for 50 years that has its sights set on revenge on humans.

While the in name only sequel to Xtro, Xtro II: The Second Encounter was a troubled production, the home video market at the time meant it was successful enough to warrant this third entry which according to director and producer Harry Bromley Davenport was a much more pleasant experience than Xtro II. Xtro 3: Watch the Skies is a superior effort to Xtro II, but not to the point where I'd call it passable or serviceable.

While Xtro II took inspiration from Alien/Aliens with its tight corridors, creature effects, and general character set, Xtro 3 takes inspiration from Predator with a jungle/island setting and an alien antagonist with cloaking abilities and mixes it with aesthetic and thematic similarities to the X-Files. The movie is way better made than Xtro II and also features more engaged characters including one character named Banta who, no joke, has a backstory inspired by Tonya Harding for some reason. The alien in Xtro while a very generic design is at least more dynamic and articulated than the xenomorph like creature from the predecessor. While being better than the bottom of the barrel Xtro II, it doesn't elevate itself to good as it's still padded with thin characters who don't have the chemistry or presence of its inspiration in Predator.

Xtro 3 is what it is, a below average direct-to-video film. It doesn't do anything wrong like its predecessor, but it doesn't do anything to distinguish itself from a crowded field either.

I list this turkey in my bottom five films of all time and I've seen quite a few. But to do B-movies justice, I always look for something redeeming. It doesn't have to be anything big either as long as a film contains some feature of interest. I'll settle for an original plot or a great villain to drive the story forward or a fight scene or dialogue that I can chuckle at, or at least remember. Ex: Men at work, pathetic story but great dialogue and quite a few funny scenes.

Alas, Xtro has no such scene. Only a barage of uninteresting characters, terrible effects, compounded by a score that sent me running for the can. Not only are these characters lacking in realism, personality and well, character. They are about the stupidest bunch of morons I've ever seen. I hoped throughout the whole "film" they would be killed, slowly. Hmmm, but I wonder: what could possibly kill them? Certainly not the alien. That rubber dummy couldn't kill my dead cat. And since this alien is only about 2 feet high, the characters shouldn't be running from it, they should stepping on it.

One more thing: It's ability to become invisible is the biggest blatant ripoff of Predator I've ever seen. Listen...if you want to watch something involving soldiers being stalked by an alien, watch Aliens and Predator, which are among my top five of all time, not this crap.

A small US military group are sent to a deserted island to dispose any live bombs. When they get there, something not quite right. As they find out that they're expendable objects who would soon encounter one vengeful alien. Through an old hermit on the island they discover that this was a place where they kept an alien species and experimented on them. Not only they have an angry ET to face, but Military intelligence who plan to use them as bait.

While, this is the third of the "Xtro" series, there's no relation between the three films. "Predator" heavily influences this tacky straight-to video Sci-fi fare. One thing definitely is that "Predator" is a definite masterpiece when compared to this cheap, hokey and pitifully vapid effort. Even the actors here, make Schwarzenegger look good! Very embarrassing execution, disastrously inept special effects and daft performances may you think "Oh no. There goes another one of my brain cells" when watching this one-of-a-kind piece of trash. The stuffy film is amateurishly put together with a clichéd narrative that's shamelessly derivative. Reckless characters act tough and spit out macho dribble with attitude. It's pretty mind numbing to listen to, especially when it goes for meaningful conversations. Streaming through is a husky voice-over and a lot white rabbits to hold your attention. Yeah, there's something engaging about those white fluffy rabbits!

Despite finding it quite an irritable and drab viewing, few things hit the mark. There are some quite nasty moments when the rubbery alien decides it's torture time with some blood squirting. The thunderous music score manages a few chilling cues. While the performances are laughably hopeless, but Robert Culp and a slightly amusing Andrew Divoff are the odd exception. While, the make-up effects of the outer space visitor are questionable, it still manages to hold up for its tiny budget.

Director Harry Bromley (who also directed the first two flicks) is really clutching at straws with this flatly handled and too practical project. Imaginative details, gripping suspense and bug-eyed visuals are long gone here. No techniques really stand out in this by the numbers exercise and what he comes up with is mostly ridiculous and ineffective.

Poorly done garbage that turns into a wearisome puddle.