Review Detail

Just completed watching this and I want to really give credit to the fabulous improvement on the special effects. This is perhaps the most significant renovation on this version of the film, and it greatly enhances the overall movie.

It's always been an odd movie; I never really hated it when it came out, like many do, but I also never really loved it either. I own a copy, and every few years I watch it.

It always felt like two movies. The first half deals with Howard coming to Earth and trying to fit in. The second half deals with the Dark Overlord inhabiting Dr. Jenning (Jeffrey Jones) and the threat to the world. In many ways, the film felt overlong with too much going on after the gears switch in the middle. I fault the film for this, as the Dark Overlord makes NO appearance in the first half, so his arrival in the second is like the start of something entirely new.

Fortunately, this fanedit tightens the pace and keeps the storyline clipping along at a reasonable speed. There is no narrative change (moving pieces around to introduce the second half into the first half), but the improved pace does keep the film from feeling over-long. This makes it a better film overall.

Editing is seamless and I noticed no audio faults or issues. I don't miss anything that has been cut. So, for a film that keeps the original structure of the film but improves special effects and pacing, it succeeds 100%.

CAN THE FILM BE IMPROVED FROM HERE? That is a good question. Rather than debate "cut this scene, it's pointless," or "put this back in, I like it," I think the only discussion at this point should be, "Is there a narrative change that could improve this film?" That is a reasonable question. Perhaps dividing the movie into two parts would be one approach. Instead of one movie, we have two individual episodes (for example, Episode 1: Duck out of Water, Episode 2: A Fowl Fate). This might reinforce the comic book origin of the material while providing a reason for the drastic gear shift mid-film. This is in NO WAY a criticism of this fanedit, but the original film.

So, once again, this is a fantastic Fanedit in improving the original film in both pacing and special effects. Great Job! I loved it! If the Faneditor chooses to revisit this film in the future, you might consider the above idea.