The Good:
-Neat, Original Idea; Aliens v.s. Cowboys. How can you screw that up?
-Nice set design, costumes, casting. Looks like what I imagine a real Western town might have been like if I wasn't being overly critical.
-Marsters is fun to see playing the hero.
-The production values, action and running around and hammy story-telling was all very formula, but nonetheless executed with competence. It was as good as any average hour-long TV drama, and we've all sat through enough of that stuff without complaint.
The Bad:
-Dreary lighting. This might have been on purpose, but I found it a bit tiresome. Some clear sunlight would have gone a long way.
-The sci-fi thinking is about as sophisticated as a mediocre old Star Trek episode (minus the Kirk/Bones/Spock magic). The alien bugs eat, get this, *Uranium*. -Now, if this were the 1950's when, in the minds of the public, uranium was akin to magical pixie dust; the Gee-Whiz Science of the era, then it might not have seemed hopelessly silly. But today, it's simply not that impressive a trope to run a whole story around. Though, apparently the writer slept through high school science because in his world view, uranium, being the fuel of leading-edge human science *seventy* years ago, must clearly also be the core ingredient of any super-advanced alien society as well.
And for some reason, when it comes to this particular brand of silly, other levels of child-like thinking crop up. Because the aliens don't just eat uranium; oh no! It's also their primary weapon! But they don't use radioactive space rays. No sir! They shoot big Indian arrow head chunks of the stuff out of their tails. Uranium is probably the life blood of their entire alien empire as well, but I wouldn't know, because I had to give up two thirds of the way through the story. It just got too dumb for me and I started cringing.
-The dialogue was hammy; it sounded like what a child thinks the adult world sounds like. The actors did their best with what they had.
Conclusion: "High Plains Invaders" looks pretty good if you don't examine it too closely. If you're a (young) kid, this would probably be fun. But if you're a discerning adult, the whole exercise is tiresome and unrewarding. It's not so bad that you'll feel abused, but I say that after having hit the 'eject' button before finishing.
Only watch this if you're under the age of 10, stoned or have absolutely nothing else to do.
-Neat, Original Idea; Aliens v.s. Cowboys. How can you screw that up?
-Nice set design, costumes, casting. Looks like what I imagine a real Western town might have been like if I wasn't being overly critical.
-Marsters is fun to see playing the hero.
-The production values, action and running around and hammy story-telling was all very formula, but nonetheless executed with competence. It was as good as any average hour-long TV drama, and we've all sat through enough of that stuff without complaint.
The Bad:
-Dreary lighting. This might have been on purpose, but I found it a bit tiresome. Some clear sunlight would have gone a long way.
-The sci-fi thinking is about as sophisticated as a mediocre old Star Trek episode (minus the Kirk/Bones/Spock magic). The alien bugs eat, get this, *Uranium*. -Now, if this were the 1950's when, in the minds of the public, uranium was akin to magical pixie dust; the Gee-Whiz Science of the era, then it might not have seemed hopelessly silly. But today, it's simply not that impressive a trope to run a whole story around. Though, apparently the writer slept through high school science because in his world view, uranium, being the fuel of leading-edge human science *seventy* years ago, must clearly also be the core ingredient of any super-advanced alien society as well.
And for some reason, when it comes to this particular brand of silly, other levels of child-like thinking crop up. Because the aliens don't just eat uranium; oh no! It's also their primary weapon! But they don't use radioactive space rays. No sir! They shoot big Indian arrow head chunks of the stuff out of their tails. Uranium is probably the life blood of their entire alien empire as well, but I wouldn't know, because I had to give up two thirds of the way through the story. It just got too dumb for me and I started cringing.
-The dialogue was hammy; it sounded like what a child thinks the adult world sounds like. The actors did their best with what they had.
Conclusion: "High Plains Invaders" looks pretty good if you don't examine it too closely. If you're a (young) kid, this would probably be fun. But if you're a discerning adult, the whole exercise is tiresome and unrewarding. It's not so bad that you'll feel abused, but I say that after having hit the 'eject' button before finishing.
Only watch this if you're under the age of 10, stoned or have absolutely nothing else to do.