Mind-Numbing Stupidity

Rating: 2/10 (27 July 2000)

Of course, it's hard to explain why this is one of the stupidest movies ever made, a non-stop cavalcade of egregious plot howlers, without spoiling some of the plot points. (OK, here's one: if the aliens have multiple tentacles, why did they design spaceships that can be flown with two hands?) Great sf has *never* been about turning off your brain and not questioning the patently ridiculous. And everything that's stupid about this movie actually serves to make the story *less* interesting (e.g., instead of having to figure out how to fly the alien spaceships, just turn the key and go!). This movie was a big success for three reasons: it rips off some classic images from written sf (such as the immense spaceships appearing over world cities, from Arthur C. Clarke's _Childhood's End_), it has great SFX, and the good guys win. For many, that was enough to overcome the putrid screenwriting. The filmmakers were not so lucky with _Godzilla_ -- and if there's any justice in the world, they'll never be allowed near a camera again.