Forbidden Planet Review by Radrook
Sept 22, 2019 14:16:09 GMT -5
Post by Radrook Admin on Sept 22, 2019 14:16:09 GMT -5
Forbidden Planet Review
Before you read my narrative-please note that there will be spoilers in the story narrative. So if you intend to watch the film, I strongly recommend that you watch it first, and read my commentary later. The video review is less revealing and is OK IMHO. Still, it is best to watch the film first and read the reviews later for full enjoyment.
Forbidden Planet is about an expedition from Earth during the 23rd century, sent out to the planet Altair to investigate what has happened to the human colony there. The first thing that caught my eye was that the Earth ship is a typical flying saucer. One usually expects such designs to be alien. All other movies previous to this one had depicted flying saucers as alien vehicles of alien design. But in this hypothetical future, humans are using it. I found that intriguing as well as very visually pleasing.
The ship reaches the general vicinity of the planet after using what appears to be a warp drive during which the entire crew is in temporary stasis. Once in orbit, contact is made with one of the colonists still on the planet who warns them to keep their distance. They ignore his warning and land anyway amidst an alien landscape. The ship looks rather small for such a large crew and puts to test our willingness to suspend disbelief.
Soon after they land, a robot is dispatched to meet them, and the captain and two other crew- members, including a ship physician, meet the only survivors of the colony-a professor and his daughter. She walks about in skimpy attire and soon incites the interests of various crew-members, including that captain's.
They are told that some mysterious force wiped out the Krell, the original dwellers of the planet eons before, as well as the human colonists, but that it had spared the professor and his daughter. They are introduced to what remains of the Krell technology which has self-repaired for millennia, as well as to the source of its energy, which harnesses and multiplies the power latent in the planet's core to infinity. They are told that the professor had attempted to use one invention, and it had multiplied his IQ. after almost killing him.
As the plot thickens, a love relationship between the captain and the professor's daughter develops, and ship members begin to be murdered by some mysterious force. In one scene, the force assumes the form of a four-legged monster whose appearance doesn't fit in with the crew's evolutionary expectations. Although all the ship's batteries are focused on it-it doesn't disintegrate. As the encounter proceeds, the professor is shown tossing in his sleep, until his daughter screams in the distance and awakens him. Simultaneously, the howling creature disappears.
The last scene shows the professor being told that his subconscious, or his id, is the monster whom the Krell machine is making a reality. Their tech is empowering it to resist all attempts to destroy it. The professor refuses to believe it until the monster approaches his abode to kill them all. Then he realizes the truth, and attempts to stop its attack. The professor is mortally wounded by his ID creature and dies after telling the captain to destroy the planet by throwing a switch.
Things that tested my suspension of disbelief:
1. Robbi the robot would have keeled over for lack of a counterweight if tons of weight had been placed in one of its hands. His Strength would have been irrelevant, just as it is for a crane which will keel over if it attempts to lift something without sufficient counterweight.
2. The ship looks much too small for the crew.
3. A man isolated on a planet with his daughter would not encourage her nor allow her to walk about in skimpy revealing clothing nor permit her to believe that being naked in front of men is OK.
In short, the professor's daughter's total lack of proper comportment between the sexes seems unbelievable. It indicates parental neglect which would not have occurred unless the parent was a child abuser. Especially with the approach of the crew, a normal father would have made sure she could not be taken advantage of. Especially since his subconscious was totally against his daughter's leaving the planet or becoming amorously involved with any of the crew. So it causes a contradiction and seems contrived.
4. The Krell's inability to immediately realize what had gone wrong with their invention seems also strange since they are described as being infinitely smarter than humans. Unless the invention was too quick to counteract and their numbers were scarce. Also, would they not have colonies throughout the universe beyond the reach of the initial invention? Are we to believe that they were limited to that small world? Are we also to believe that they were unaware of their inner conflicts which might trigger such a mechanism? All these are matters in which we must cooperate and place our critical thinking on hold to enjoy the film.
Monster From the Id