Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 AD
I need not elaborate on the plot as despite being a grammatical nightmare, the title has at least to key words needed to deduce what this film is about. What does Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 AD even mean anyway? Now whilst I do have a soft spot for this film, as it was the first piece of Doctor Who I ever saw, making me obsessed with Daleks, and weirdly a number other people I know, it is flawed in retrospect. Fortunately this film is immediately easier on the eye and seems to get more value for money because with the Earth setting, location filming became possible. Even the interior scenes look a lot more tasteful as the décor has been toned down and the most impressive revelation is that the TARDIS has been given an overhaul thank goodness, sadly it is only seen in the opening and closing scenes, which is disappointing, but Ill overlook it. The second thing that jumps out is that the cast has been given a shake up. Ian and Barbara have gone with no explaination and I dont actually care. Jill Curzon was brought in to play Louise, Dr. Whos niece, the subtext to which suggests that Dr. Who just likes kidnapping his relatives and probably has a very annoyed brother somewhere. Could it be the Master? Also I do not blame Jennie Linden for not returning, she did not get a good deal as Barbara. Without Barbara, there can be no Ian and is replaced by Tom Campbell played by the legendary Bernard Cribbins, a police constable that stumbles into the TARDIS believing it to be a real police box after being hit over the head during a robbery. This is a far more credible introduction and suggestion as to why the TARDIS is a Police Box, actually acting as camouflage as it doesnt directly give away the origins of Dr. Who and dismissing the continuity to spite itself. What is surprising however is how Dr. Who is quite happy to just take this unconscious London bobby into time and space because he was just about to leave, is it even possible to be delayed in a time machine? Of course Peter Cushing is back and fortunately his performance is a lot more considered, creating a much more respectable and credible character. He actually gets a good slice of the action in this film, even applying some pseudo science to defeat the Daleks. The serious approach does the character a world of benefit and fits the tone of this far more gritty approach to the fight against the Daleks. Its a pity that Cushing isnt in it more in fact. Conversely, the character that really gets the rough deal is Roberta Tovey as Susan. She really doesnt have much to do once she is separated from her grandfather and like Barbara before her feels superfluous to the plot. At one point she jumps out at her unwilling guardian Wyler from behind a tree, almost as if she is just trying to find interesting things to do. Remove her from the story and nothing would change. The same with Louise, she is a direct replacement for an unnecessary character and as a result, she too is even more unnecessary and no attempt is made to hide the fact. She spends part of the film hiding on board the Dalek space ship. When it is attacked she is knocked unconscious. When she regains consciousness, she hides from the Robomen until she bumps into Tom. They escape from the spaceship together and are reunited with Dr. Who who then asks for her to find a safe hiding place while he deals with the Daleks. She is then not seen until the end of the film. There is no need for her to be there and there was no need to replace Jennie Linden. Tom Campbell is spot on characterization by Bernard Cribbins. Scenes that could have been played for laughs, but Cribbins plays it straight, which actually communicates quite a degree of jeopardy. The Robomens dinner time is actually cringe worthy and unnecessary, but ultimately Tom is quite the hero. Watch him run at the end and just when hes about to escape there is a moment you think he might meet his end at the mercy (or lack of) of a Dalek. So what of the Daleks themselves? Well apart from redecorating and having a pretty awesome spaceship, (although still impressive, why build the control room going vertically upward in a film for widescreen?) The Daleks are presented to us with some degree of assumed knowledge, we know what Daleks are and we know what they do otherwise we would not be watching this film. They exterminate people, invade planets and have wild plans of universal conquest. There are plenty of Exterminations in contrast to the previous film's death toll of one. Invaded planet, check. The biggest gripe with this however is that apart from the London Underground station (where the Daleks werent even seen) there are no shots of Daleks around London itself, no famous London landmarks. A medium budget picture was incapable of capturing the imagery as iconic as the Daleks on Westminster Bridge that a TV show did. I suspect omission of this was to prevent alienating the Americans. The sight of the Daleks in London should be like the blowing up of the White House in Independence Day, it should be iconic and cinematic. What do we get? The back lot of Shepperton studios with some rubble thrown about. Finally, wild plan of universal conquest, double check. Id consider piloting the Earth like a giant spaceship to be pretty wild as plans go. Its odd that the slave worker who explains this says it so casually. In this adventure, the Daleks finest moment by far is when the devious Brockley as played by the great Philip Madoc, tricks Dr. Who into leaving his tool shed where he has been plotting against the invaders only to be confronted by a mass furious Daleks. After Dr. Who is taken away, Brockerly realizes whats coming and that hes made a big mistake. Running back into the tool shed he thinks hes outsmarted them only for the Daleks to open fire and the shed to explode in a spectacular fireball. A great moment! Aided in their devious scheme, the Daleks have created the Robomen, on paper zombified human beings, on screen, biker gimps with Ray Bans. Thats all I have to say on the matter really as the only purpose they serve is to deflect some screen time away from the Daleks, which is good for the Daleks, but the Robomen are not backed up by any actual credibility. Now like the previous film, the plot is massively stripped down, yet it does not translate half as well. For one thing, there is a huge confusion about where each character is heading after being split up. Susan leaves a message for her Grandfather, which he misses because it was written on the back of a sliding door (why!) and when you think they will never be reunited, Susan changes her mind half way through her journey because she conveniently assumes her Grandfather will ignore her message. It makes no sense! We never actually get to see Watford, which has pretty much entered Doctor Who mythology of places weve heard about but never visited like Sontar or San Kloon. On a more positive note, the resolution to the Dalek invasion is at least a little clearer than it was on TV, which had the Daleks' power source attacked off screen. Here the very skin of the Daleks becomes their downfall. The Daleks fear the magnetic power of Earths poles, hence why they have been using the humans as work machines. When the bomb is detonated, the Daleks suddenly become affected by the magnetic force and basically go haywire in a glorious climax. The downside with this and other action scenes in the film, of which there are a few, is that they are scored with the most unbefitting, upbeat, swing, jazz soundtrack. Once this is pointed out to you, you will not be able to help but notice this. Although flawed, this film is still both likeable and enjoyable much more than the previous. Apart from minor deficiencies in the script, the film mostly comes together pretty well. The film is also supported by a more consistent overall tone, which although darker, I think kids will enjoy it more and adults too will be able to find something to appreciate. Like the previous film as a piece of cinema, its poor. The script is seriously sloppy in places, undermining a decent story and plot at the heart. While Peter Cushings performance is improved and Bernard Cribbins is on fine form. Again, it makes me wonder if these films would have worked better by ditching the TARDIS and its crew and just focusing on the Daleks and the resistance. So why should you buy this film on Blu Ray? Well again if you already own it on DVD then there isnt much improvement so Im tempted to say dont bother. But looking past that, this film is something of a cult legend, it certainly got me hooked on the Daleks and I never looked back so there is certainly something unique about this movie as several others have said the same. It has nostalgia value and unlike many things, it wont disappoint you upon revisitation and kids will probably be entertained and thrilled more by Daleks Invasion Earth than Dr. Who and the Daleks. As for Peter Cushing fans, again you arent missing much despite an improved performance, but if you were curious about this venture during his career, this is probably more worth your time. By far the best reason to buy this however is that it has Philip Madoc, Bernard Cribbins and the Daleks in it! Thats got to be worth something.