The Invader (1997) Poster

(1997)

User Reviews

Review this title
7 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
4/10
like a Lifetime TV movie, with aliens
grnhair200129 April 2014
Warning: Spoilers
I found this watchable and almost okay, in a "this is total fantasy and makes not one iota of sense" way.

In the real universe, each planet has its own slow evolution of life. While something like eyes might be required for any line of critter to become intelligent and certainly for any critter to become interested in space travel (if you never see stars, you'd never wonder about them), the chance of other species evolving to look like humans approaches zero. The chance of other aliens having two eyes over a nose over a mouth approaches zero. There's no guarantee of bilateral symmetry, even. The chance of inter-species breeding is zero. Hey, we can't even interbreed with chimps, who are our coevals and share 99% of DNA with us. Aliens will never ever ever come to earth to impregnate earth girls. Never. And no pregnancy, no matter its origins, could move that fast. Where is the fetus getting its mass from?

So, knowing that, a viewer understands the movie is not s-f at all, it's more a romantic fantasy. But it's an interesting romance because the alien who impregnates (which, as she points out, is really sort of rapes, though no genital contact is required) our heroine becomes eventually her friend but not her love interest; she still loves her estranged husband who is pursuing the wife he assumes to be kidnapped. Half of the movie is this not-quite-romance fantasy plot, which involves the marital separation and their childlessness and her teaching life and BFF, and half of it is a lengthy chase scene where Bad Alien pursues Good Raping Alien. (Why? We never really understand that either, and why a species would spend so much of its planetary resources to kill off another planet's intelligent inhabitants has never made any sense, but it's a sf trope no one seems to question, so there you have it. "just because.")

And you don't want to overthink the details of the chase, either, not the police procedural bits certainly, nor why handcuffs work on Alien A but not on Alien B, nor do you want to ask why Good Raping Alien and Pregnant Woman have to drive all that way to meet these advanced aliens' fleet rather than the fleet coming down wherever they damned well please, but really, don't think about any of that, and it ends up being pretty well acted by some decent actors, and pretty well paced for a girly Lifetime TV movie (which it wasn't but could have been).

And even for that sort of movie, you don't want to think too much about how the message of this film to women is "getting pregnant is the be-all of your life, and if you can't, you're not worth much, and even rape by an alien, if it cures your infertility, is better than nothing."

But ignore the biological factual errors, the logical errors, and anti-woman message, and hey, it's not that awful. It's certainly not a one-star movie or the worst movie I've seen this week.
2 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
3/10
what is Sean Young doing in this
crymygenic212 October 2006
I saw this in the market place at the Cannes Film Festival.

It's a real cheapo prod - nothing wrong with that but you have to make up for it with a bit of sex or gore or both.

Think Larry Cohen.

Sean Young is an interesting actor - well done to the producers for hooking her I guess.

The opening scene in the space-ship coming down is hilarious - you could picture all the crew hands shaking it around!

Ha ha - but I wish the people who made this well - at least it's not pretentious.
2 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
1/10
Painfully cliche`.
cLoNe10 February 2001
The movie's premise is spooky: a woman gets pregnant when kissed by a stranger in a bar.

But as soon as the movie begins, a horrible opening scene establishes that this is a C type Sci-Fi TV movie. It's a big Star Trek and a bit X-files, but more than anything else it's boring.

When the movie kicks into action everything is predictable and cliche. It looked more like a 2 parter in a bad Sci-Fi TV series. No suspense and no thrills, but not for a lack of trying. Just a lot of predictable dramatic conflicts between the main characters.

Don't waste your time.
6 out of 10 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
2/10
Seen this story somewhere before... hmmm... so familiar....
zdac5 January 2006
Here we are: two travelers from a distant futuristic world arrive on earth... one is on a desperate mission to preserve a life, another is an inhuman killing machine determined to eliminate the woman who will give birth to the saviour of an entire race.

So what could we call this killing machine? It's almost like he's some kind of destroyer, or eradicator... sort of like an exterminator or something. What's the word I'm looking for... something that -terminates- things? Hmmmm....

Anyway, the protector (who swiftly doffs the white tunic he stole from Luke Skywalker in favour of local clothing) finds the young woman first and impregnates her with a future-born hero-to-be. The evil uhhhh... "exterminator" kills some rednecks and steals their guns and clothes, then attempts to locate the woman by visiting her workplace and asking around by looking menacingly into people's eyes and repeating her name threateningly.

Then begins a desperate race for survival as the seemingly deathless and unstoppable "exterminator" pursues the couple across the countryside. At some point he may acquire boots and a motorcycle, but I'm not sure.

Perhaps, in an exciting finale, he will attempt to crush them under the wheels of an enormous tanker truck full of... acid. Then the truck will crash. They will be saved... but no! He will then re-emerge, as strong as ever. He will kill the protector and pursue the girl into a meat packing plant, where in a terrifying finish, he is pushed into a large piece of industrial chopping machinery, and destroyed once and for all.

But maybe I'm extrapolating too much... after all, I did stop watching this movie after Mr. Protector magically impregnates Sean Young by kissing her at a bar, then tells her the child will be born in 3 days.

The costumes and effects are great in this movie... I loved them the first time I saw them on Star Trek: Next Generation too! Sean Young does another great turn as an unemotive Replicant, and career sweat-hog Stephen Baldwin is also on board as Young's Fat Cop Boyfriend. Not sure where he fits into the plot though... maybe he's an import from a different James Cameron movie?
5 out of 10 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
1/10
This is the most boring movie I have ever seen.
winecoffw31 October 2005
This is the only movie I have ever seen that has prompted me to write a critique on any internet site, and that is a significant statement from someone who likes "The Attack of the Monolith Monsters." This movie is perfect for anyone who wants an inoffensive movie. It is devoid of sex and violence, for example. I believe that this movie is safe for children of all ages. This movie is perfect for anyone who does not want to be entertained, challenged, or stimulated in any way. Adults could easily catch up on their sleep in front of the TV while the kids watch this movie. Don't be surprise ,however, if you wakeup to find the kids have turned the TV off and started a board game. As an adult who enjoys being entertained, who enjoys everything from the mundane to the fantastic in realism, drama, comedy, and action, all of those adult things that reflect real life on earth and/or stimulate the imagination, this movie has nothing to offer.
4 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
9/10
FAST MOVING SCI-FI THRILLER
DOMENICADG11 January 1999
THE INVADERS IS A FAST MOVING SCI-FI THRILLER STARRING BEN CROSS AND SEAN YOUNG. BEN PLAYS RENN, A TRAVELLER FROM ANOTHER GALAXY TRYING TO FIND ANNIE (PLAYED BY SEAN) WHO IS PHYSICALLY IDEAL TO HAVE HIS CHILD. THIS CHILD, IF ALLOWED TO BE BORN AND RETURNED TO HIS PLANET, MAY BE THE ONLY CHANCE FOR HIS RACE TO SURVIVE. THE ENEMY, AN ALIEN WHO HAS DESTROYED RENN'S PEOPLE, HAS ALSO FOLLOWED RENN ACROSS THE STARS TO STOP THIS BIRTH. CROSS AGAIN SHOWS GREAT RANGE FROM COMICAL BEGINNINGS AS THE ALIEN ENTERS A LOCAL BAR AND ORDERS HIS FIRST EARTHLING COCKTAIL, TO HIS RACE WITH THE ENEMY AND THE DRAMA OF WHETHER HE CAN KEEP ANNIE AND THE CHILD SHE IS CARRYING ALIVE.
5 out of 18 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Well-intended but painfully cliched.
willywants29 November 2003
"The Invader" is a inoffensive film, but it falls short due to a predictable by-the-numbers plot and cliched elements that it borrows from many different superior sci-fi films.

While "Invader" is a cliched film, it does have it's merits. The script is quite good, the acting is hit or miss, and some of the special effects are decent (like the space ship chase scene in the opening sequence--some nice model and blue screen work), but a pace that moves like molasses, a unimaginative plot, and all-too-human looking aliens hammer it.
1 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Recently Viewed