CONQUEST OF THE EARTH

US, 1980, 96 minutes, Colour.
Lorne Greene, John Colicos, Kent Mc Cord, William Daniels, Sharon Acker, Robyn Douglass.
Directed by Barry Crane, Sidney Hayers.

The third cinema feature from the Battle Star Galactica series after Battle Star Galactica and Mission Galactica. The film is made up of television episodes, hence three directors. The film is the work of the creator writer Glen A. Larson. Lorne Greene continues his role as Adarma but the rest of the cast is entirely new.

The film has all the elements of the Battle Star Galactica films and episodes, adventures in outer space in the Battle Star, the search for Earth and the humans. It also has sequences of confrontation with the Sylons - still menacing in their robot form as well as well as their humanoid leader played snarlingly by John Colicos. The Sylons almost discover Earth but their humanoid forms are defeated by the heroes. The heroes provide a lot of the humour of the film - it takes advantage of the popularity of time travel films of the late seventies (Time After Time, Somewhere in Time, The Final Count Down). As the Battle Star nears Earth, spies are sent out and don human form. They have some humorous adventures trying to make contact with humans as well as cope with 20th century vocabulary and such undeveloped machines as the telephone. There is also a touch of romance.

The film also shows imagination in special effects by presenting a computer prediction of what would happen if Los Angeles were attacked by the Sylons. This makes for some excellent special effect work. The film is strong on the usual themes of intergalactic wars with their mythical overtones. There are searches, quests, heroes and heroines, struggles and endurance, split second climaxes. This latter comes also with some bewildered comic support from radio personality Wolfman Jack.

All in all, an undemanding but enjoyable contribution to the trend, of space films of the seventies and eighties.