Wide stretches of the film are purely concerned with celebrating fancy (for the time) science equipment and methods, which amounts to gear porn and modernity masturbation of an age long past. None of this stuff is modern any longer and therefore it is utterly boring.
The writing is also weak. All characters are old people completely devoid of characteristics. The filmmakers meticiulously avoid even trying to make the viewers care about any of these people for a millisecond. To the contrary: extended stretches with a crying baby make you absolutely hate it. Therefore there is no suspense, except for hoping that the baby finally dies so the screaming might finally stop.
In short: a yawn fest if ever I saw one. Attitudes, techniques and writing straight out of the cold war. It may have been made in 1971 but clearly not by the avant-garde. It is a late 50s/early 60s movie, and not one of the good ones.
The one single positive: there is no forced love story either.
Basically it is the exact opposite of true classics like Phase IV (1989) although admittedly that was made 18 years later.
The writing is also weak. All characters are old people completely devoid of characteristics. The filmmakers meticiulously avoid even trying to make the viewers care about any of these people for a millisecond. To the contrary: extended stretches with a crying baby make you absolutely hate it. Therefore there is no suspense, except for hoping that the baby finally dies so the screaming might finally stop.
In short: a yawn fest if ever I saw one. Attitudes, techniques and writing straight out of the cold war. It may have been made in 1971 but clearly not by the avant-garde. It is a late 50s/early 60s movie, and not one of the good ones.
The one single positive: there is no forced love story either.
Basically it is the exact opposite of true classics like Phase IV (1989) although admittedly that was made 18 years later.