The Puppet Masters (1994)

Not a bad movie.
I'm a huge sci-fi fan, most movies are either too weird, too cerebral or not smart enough for me. I'm kinda picky. But this one's just right. It's not the best sci-fi in the world, but it's done well enough to make my ownership list.

"Say goodbye to your son, Andrew."
It's probably worthwhile to mention that I have not had an opportunity to read the source material, in this case a novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in the early 1950s, that the film The Puppet Masters (1994) was based on, so I can't speak towards what made it into the movie and what didn't...co-written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio (both of whom worked on films like Small Soldiers, Shrek, and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl), and David S. Goyer (Dark City, Blade, Batman Begins) and directed by Stuart Orme, the film stars Donald Sutherland (Animal House, Space Cowboys, Cold Mountain), Eric Thal (A Stranger Among Us, Six Degrees of Separation), and Julie Warner (Doc Hollywood, Tommy Boy). Also appearing is Keith David (They Live, The Quick and the Dead), Will Patton (Armageddon, Remember the Titans), Richard Belzer ("Homicide: Life on the Street"), and Yaphet Kotto (Truck Turner, Alien).

The film begins as we witness a strange phenomenon in the sky in a small, midwestern town, drawing the attention of a number of slack jawed yokels. Shortly afterwards some gooberment people show up, namely Andrew Nivens (Sutherland), head of a secret agency called the Office of Scientific Intelligence, his son Sam Nivens (Thal), an agent of the aforementioned group, Dr. Mary Sefton, an exobiologist on loan from NASA, and some scrub agent played by Belzer. The cursory investigation turns up some interesting things, the main thing being that people in Iowa seem especially strong and exhibit violent tendencies. Well, it turns out some wee, flat, cartilaginous, fish-like, intelligent, parasitic aliens have come to our little corner of the universe, latching onto the backs of humans, giving them complete control over the actions of their hosts. The trio manages to capture one of the buggers and return with it to Washington for further investigation. The big question now seems to be exactly what do these visitors want? Now I'm no rocket scientist, but I'd guess it would be something along the lines of planetary conquest...and sure enough, various plans come to light, one involving an attempt on `assimilating' the big cheese hisself (I'm speaking of the President of these here United States). As Mary and her team work desperately to better understand the creatures (and uncover exploitable weaknesses), the gooberment deploys the army to contain the sinister invasion, but these efforts are in vain as the aliens seem to be multiplying at an exponential rate, eventually taking over the great metropolis that is Des Moines, Iowa...quoting a line from another film (specifically 1986 feature Aliens), "I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit"...ultimately events occur, someone within the group is `taken', and a rescue is attempted as agents try to infiltrate the hive. Is the human race destined to become soulless automaton hosts for mini-stingrays from outer space? Perhaps, but would that really be so bad? I mean think about it...how swell it would be to have something else making all your decisions for you, alleviating you of all responsibility? Freewill is over-rated anyhow...I say acquiesce to your slimy, alien masters and enjoy the ride...

As I've said, I haven't read the original source material for this film, so I can't say what was kept and what was changed, but I did enjoy this movie. It starts quick out of the gate and maintains a brisk pace throughout, keeping its focus well. I thought most all the performers did well and I appreciated the chemistry, especially between Thal and Warner's characters. I will say their burgeoning relationship seemed to come on a bit quick, but given their relative appeal, it wasn't completely unbelievable that they should have the primal desire to shag each other. I was slightly disappointed that Warner's character devolved a little as the film carried on, appearing less of a character and more of a classic, sci-fi stereotype (the female in distress needing rescuing), but she does gain some strength again near the end. I really like Sutherland's character, a suave, no nonsense, intelligent, and pragmatic individual willing to sacrifice much in the line of duty. Thal did well in the role of Sam, a character who seemed to get the beating about once every ten minutes throughout the film (the aliens, in controlling their hosts, also imbued them chemically with strength beyond that of normal). If he wasn't getting slapped around or kicked in the head, he was being thrown down the stairs...he did manage to get in a few good licks, though, along with showing us the splendor of his nekkid hindquarters, which I really didn't need to see (I'm sure many a female viewer appreciated it), but whatever. It would have been nice to see a little skin from Ms. Warner if only to offset the visual of a nekkid Eric Thal, but if you want that, you'll have to catch it in one of her other films, a feature titled Doc Hollywood (1991). My favorite scene occurs near the end, as we see our protagonists racing to catch a helicopter, trying to stay ahead of some alien controlled hosts intent on doing them great, bodily harm...as the helicopter, which landed on a rooftop, begins to move off the roof, one doofus makes a leaping effort to grab onto the landing gear, missing it by a mile...it just seemed funny seeing this valiant effort fail miserably, as if the alien completely underestimated its hosts abilities, and paid the ultimate price. I thought the parasitic creatures looked pretty cool, although I didn't understand why in various scenes people were asked to take their shirts off so that the unaffected humans could see if there was an alien on their backs (other than a chance to get see people without their shirts on). Given the size of the creatures, one could have easily determined this with a simple pat down. The biggest bone to pick for me was the ending, something another reviewer has already brought up...I don't want to give anything away, but essentially we see everyone relaxing under the belief the threat is over, but it really isn't, which results in a climatic aerial sequence. While exciting, it felt tacked on and unnecessary, adding very little to the overall production other than an over-the-top ending. Oh well, that's Hollywood for you...other than a few aspects, overall I thought this feature, albeit by the numbers, relatively well written and just a whole lot of fun.

The picture, presented in widescreen (2.35:1), enhanced for 16X9 TVs, looks very sharp and clean, and the Dolby Digital Surround Sound audio comes through clearly. There are no special features included, but there are English subtitles.

Cookieman108

"Say goodbye to your son, Andrew."
It's probably worthwhile to mention that I have not had an opportunity to read the source material, in this case a novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in the early 1950s, that the film The Puppet Masters (1994) was based on, so I can't speak towards what made it into the movie and what didn't...co-written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio (both of whom worked on films like Small Soldiers, Shrek, and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl), and David S. Goyer (Dark City, Blade, Batman Begins) and directed by Stuart Orme, the film stars Donald Sutherland (Animal House, Space Cowboys, Cold Mountain), Eric Thal (A Stranger Among Us, Six Degrees of Separation), and Julie Warner (Doc Hollywood, Tommy Boy). Also appearing is Keith David (They Live, The Quick and the Dead), Will Patton (Armageddon, Remember the Titans), Richard Belzer ("Homicide: Life on the Street"), and Yaphet Kotto (Truck Turner, Alien).

The film begins as we witness a strange phenomenon in the sky in a small, midwestern town, drawing the attention of a number of slack jawed yokels. Shortly afterwards some gooberment people show up, namely Andrew Nivens (Sutherland), head of a secret agency called the Office of Scientific Intelligence, his son Sam Nivens (Thal), an agent of the aforementioned group, Dr. Mary Sefton, an exobiologist on loan from NASA, and some scrub agent played by Belzer. The cursory investigation turns up some interesting things, the main thing being that people in Iowa seem especially strong and exhibit violent tendencies. Well, it turns out some wee, flat, cartilaginous, fish-like, intelligent, parasitic aliens have come to our little corner of the universe, latching onto the backs of humans, giving them complete control over the actions of their hosts. The trio manages to capture one of the buggers and return with it to Washington for further investigation. The big question now seems to be exactly what do these visitors want? Now I'm no rocket scientist, but I'd guess it would be something along the lines of planetary conquest...and sure enough, various plans come to light, one involving an attempt on `assimilating' the big cheese hisself (I'm speaking of the President of these here United States). As Mary and her team work desperately to better understand the creatures (and uncover exploitable weaknesses), the gooberment deploys the army to contain the sinister invasion, but these efforts are in vain as the aliens seem to be multiplying at an exponential rate, eventually taking over the great metropolis that is Des Moines, Iowa...quoting a line from another film (specifically 1986 feature Aliens), "I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit"...ultimately events occur, someone within the group is `taken', and a rescue is attempted as agents try to infiltrate the hive. Is the human race destined to become soulless automaton hosts for mini-stingrays from outer space? Perhaps, but would that really be so bad? I mean think about it...how swell it would be to have something else making all your decisions for you, alleviating you of all responsibility? Freewill is over-rated anyhow...I say acquiesce to your slimy, alien masters and enjoy the ride...

As I've said, I haven't read the original source material for this film, so I can't say what was kept and what was changed, but I did enjoy this movie. It starts quick out of the gate and maintains a brisk pace throughout, keeping its focus well. I thought most all the performers did well and I appreciated the chemistry, especially between Thal and Warner's characters. I will say their burgeoning relationship seemed to come on a bit quick, but given their relative appeal, it wasn't completely unbelievable that they should have the primal desire to shag each other. I was slightly disappointed that Warner's character devolved a little as the film carried on, appearing less of a character and more of a classic, sci-fi stereotype (the female in distress needing rescuing), but she does gain some strength again near the end. I really like Sutherland's character, a suave, no nonsense, intelligent, and pragmatic individual willing to sacrifice much in the line of duty. Thal did well in the role of Sam, a character who seemed to get the beating about once every ten minutes throughout the film (the aliens, in controlling their hosts, also imbued them chemically with strength beyond that of normal). If he wasn't getting slapped around or kicked in the head, he was being thrown down the stairs...he did manage to get in a few good licks, though, along with showing us the splendor of his nekkid hindquarters, which I really didn't need to see (I'm sure many a female viewer appreciated it), but whatever. It would have been nice to see a little skin from Ms. Warner if only to offset the visual of a nekkid Eric Thal, but if you want that, you'll have to catch it in one of her other films, a feature titled Doc Hollywood (1991). My favorite scene occurs near the end, as we see our protagonists racing to catch a helicopter, trying to stay ahead of some alien controlled hosts intent on doing them great, bodily harm...as the helicopter, which landed on a rooftop, begins to move off the roof, one doofus makes a leaping effort to grab onto the landing gear, missing it by a mile...it just seemed funny seeing this valiant effort fail miserably, as if the alien completely underestimated its hosts abilities, and paid the ultimate price. I thought the parasitic creatures looked pretty cool, although I didn't understand why in various scenes people were asked to take their shirts off so that the unaffected humans could see if there was an alien on their backs (other than a chance to get see people without their shirts on). Given the size of the creatures, one could have easily determined this with a simple pat down. The biggest bone to pick for me was the ending, something another reviewer has already brought up...I don't want to give anything away, but essentially we see everyone relaxing under the belief the threat is over, but it really isn't, which results in a climatic aerial sequence. While exciting, it felt tacked on and unnecessary, adding very little to the overall production other than an over-the-top ending. Oh well, that's Hollywood for you...other than a few aspects, overall I thought this feature, albeit by the numbers, relatively well written and just a whole lot of fun.

The picture, presented in widescreen (2.35:1), enhanced for 16X9 TVs, looks very sharp and clean, and the Dolby Digital Surround Sound audio comes through clearly. There are no special features included, but there are English subtitles.

Cookieman108