Attack from Space

A movie like many others from Japan as I believe it is a fused together television show like Prince of Space and the Invasion of the Neptune Men edited together and dubbed into a movie. This one features the most heroic of all heroes, Starman! He flies, he is tough as steel and he fights so fabulously! He also has very incompetent villains; seriously, why were there literally no supervillains back in the early days featured in these movies? Superhero stuff in America was like that too, it was not as if they were not present in the comics, but instead we get a bunch of normal people attacking the super powered and nearly indestructible hero and if we are lucky we get one that is sort of clever...not in this particular film though.

The story, Starman is sent to stop this race of aliens from destroying the Earth or capturing it while a scientist along with his children are making a rocket. Well, the scientist and the kids get captured along with one assistant and get whisked away to outer space, as the attack from space is rather brief. Starman pursues the rocket, but is apparently killed by a missile hitting him and then falling into a death star. That is okay, as the kids' and the assistant have a plan and who knows, perhaps Starman will be back for a super long fight scene!

The fight scene at the end of this thing is incredibly long as Starman fights a huge army while needlessly flipping around and such. He is invulnerable, he has no reason to show off! I kind of wish they would have a fight as long as this thing in a Marvel film between hero and villain instead of the five minute fights we get that are cut with scenes of like other characters not involved in the fight, or trying to pad the part for the non powered person to save the day instead.

So, if you like to see a guy in a very silly costume fight a room full of military people, this film is for you! You may not think this at first as the film drags a bit, but once Starman finally reemerges it is game on! Not a very good film and probably a worse dub, but it is funny to watch so it has that going for it. It also features some really easy to defeat bad guys who show their might to the Earth by blowing up a mountaintop in an area where there are very few people to witness said might. I think they were still new to the whole villain thing.

This is actually pretty good for something that was made for Japanese tv in 1965. It has the longest fight scene ever and it's totally ridiculous. There a few things I didn't care for though. Even though Starman was just created in another galaxy, everyone on Earth knows who he is. That's just lame. Also they start off by explaining the powers he has and they never mention that bullets and fire can't hurt him. Besides those two minor issues, it's really not that bad.

In ATTACK FROM SPACE, planet Earth is once again in grave peril. The Sepherians are up to their old tricks! With nuclear holocaust imminent, Starman (Ken Utsui) is called upon to save humanity. Much mischief is made by the Sepherians, but Starman doesn't get involved until they start messing with the annoying kids.

Starman doles out a lesson for the alien marauders, using his patented ballet fu to toss them around like lemons in a cement mixer! The seemingly endless final battle is a wonder to behold!

An epic saga of gargantuan proportions, every aspect of this movie is fun! Of course, it helps if you're about 8-10 years old. At certain points, there's a definite, pre-STAR WARS vibe going on. There's even a "Death Star". Hmmm, did a certain, ultra-famous sci-fi director happen to watch this movie as a youngster?...

Ken Utsui (1931-2014) is a very popular actor. We seldom notice him in his 179 movies and TV series. He was in Seven Samurai (1954) as Samurai Wandering Through Town (uncredited.)

Yes, it is another Starman (Ken Utsui) episode. This time he is fighting the Spherion in his usual way. Will he be able to save the universe again?

And will he be able to save the schoolgirl (Utako Mitsuya 29 years old at the making of this episode) that is being held again and turned into a robot for what purpose? They will be sorry if she ever gets loose on the space station.

This is just one episode of what could be described as an after-school special. It does not have the depth of "The Cisco Kid".

Safe for kids as no real blood and guts.

Extracted by Shintoho from a TV series, although pure space opera, 'Attack from Space' has serviceable production design with vivid special effects - although the spaceships still recall Ed Wood's hubcaps - and provides an interesting backdrop of postwar Japan; while the threat to mankind is prophetically called the 'Death Star'.

As befits the postwar spirit the stress is upon the citizens of Earth uniting behind Starman against an alien race called Superians who plan "to conquer the entire universe" (starting by blowing up the Tower of London) while the noble Dr Yamanaka declares himself "against war" and constantly stresses that the project he's working on is for "peaceful purposes".

Starman himself being Japanese shows a considerably greater propensity for violence than your average superhero, ditto his enthusiastic use of firearms.