What makes it different from others?

What a waste of my time!!!

Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

The first must-see film of the year.

Originally released in 1987 as "Star Quest: Beyond The Rising Moon", this movie is a minor indie triumph with ambitious and charming old school, "Space:1999"-style model work and effects supporting stiff performances, pedestrian direction, and a derivative, predictable screenplay. That version is currently available on Youtube. The "Outerworld" version now on Netflix and other sources is an appalling attempt to update and revise the film a la George Lucas's tweaks to the original STAR WARS trilogy and is about a thousand times less successful (and Lucas attempts were abject failures). No attempt has been made to mesh the original effects with the tacky and immediately-dated 2005 CGI and the film source appears to come from a very dated, late 1980s master. At the very least, a new film scan should have been struck and the original, unadulterated version made available to exist along side this "special edition" abortion but that is not the case. Ugh.

Watching this on Netflix streaming, within ten minutes I could tell that this film is exactly what young filmmakers should be watching to see what can be done with very little. Excellent because People today have forgotten what "suspension of disbelief" really means. It has become code for accepting the unacceptable. Instead, what it really means is allowing the story itself to shine through limitations or handicaps. The story here shines to an extent, but it is really the genuine talent that produced this film that remains a worthy object of attention.It looks older than it is, mostly due to the film stock, and maybe that adds to the appeal.

I happen to like miniature F/X when done well and while this movie sort of tips its hand that you're looking at miniatures, I liked the overall visual feel. I think some of the F/X were probably handled with very early CG mixed in (if anyone knows I'd be interested to know). There are some decent "dog fights" between the spaceships and a few good action sequences.Overall, where the movie's lower budget showed through in my mind, was with the audio and acting. The one thing that can'e be chalked up to it having been done over 20 years ago is the acting. At times it just screams "B-movie!", but as another reviewer said, that adds to the charm. If you like older sci-fi and movies with their own stylized atmosphere, you'll probably enjoy this film.

My friend Kevin was the stunt coordinator for the film, so I lucked into being invited into town for the Kennedy Center premier of this film. I had read a copy of the shooting script (back when the title was still PENTAN) and had visited the sets on an "open house" night for some of the sets. I was wholeheartedly intrigued with what I was hoping would be a great low-budget SciFi film. What I saw on the silver screen was what could have been a great pitch film for a bigger budget release, but with much of the miniature effects very poorly done, the film was doomed. With the advent of digital filming and home-grown CGI, I'd love to see this film remade. The story had great potential, but alas not the budget to grow beyond a low-grade B-movie. With a little polishing on the script, it would have made a great multi-part episode for a show like the Outer Limits or some other SciFi anthology...even a 4-hr miniseries.