AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Mabel Munoz Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

oscar-35 *Spoiler/plot- Zombies of the Stratosphere, 1952. Martians land on Earth and work with outlaws to used atomic methods to take control of the planet for Mars. Govt agents fight to stop the takeover.*Special Stars- Judd Holdren, Lane Bradford, Leonard Nimoy *Theme- The Martians always have a need to take over Earth.*Trivia/location/goofs- Early Leonard Nimoy camera appearance acting as a Martian 'henchman'. Many outdoor scenes shot at the Iverson Movie Ranch and rock formation called 'Garden of the Gods'. There are 'colorized' versions out in release. Not s enjoyable as original 'black and white'.*Emotion- A enjoyable theatrical serial of the era with it's campy-ness and corny drama intact. You still can suspend your belief in this science fiction dramas. Well worth your effort to see this saga and you'l get to see what Spielberg and Lucas experienced while young that would influence their filmmaking genius today.

ctomvelu1 Solid followup to RADAR MEN, this fast-paced Republic serial pits federal agent Larry Martin against Martians hell-bent n blowing the Earth out of the solar system and into oblivion. Larry often dons the rocket suit to fight them, so we get lots of shots of him flying, and these scenes are quite realistic. The special effects team rigged a dummy on a wire and flew the thing several feet above the ground. The only catch is, Larry's not exactly a superhero and manages to get beat up and knocked out several times by his much tougher opponents. Also, he's a lousy shot with a handgun. So's everyone else, for that matter. No one ever gets shot. Also, everyone -- good guys and bad guys -- wear the same suits and fedoras, and they're all thin as rails, so at times it is hard to tell who's who. When they fight, they almost never lose their hats, the better to hide the stuntmen. Only the Martians are dressed differently. They wear what appear to be costumes from some old King Arthur movie. And they're green, of course. The amazing physical stunt work was handled by three of Hollywood's best stuntmen. It's wise not to watch this all in one sitting, by the way. Too much repetition of the flying scenes. There is a condensed, non-serial version from 1958, if you prefer. Regardless of what you're heard about colorization, make sure to watch this in computerized color. And watch for a young Leonard Nimoy as Martian No. 2.

harper_blue This one (so to speak) is for lovers of the old Republic Serials, those incredibly silly (by modern standards) episodic films that kept our parents or grandparents coming back to the Saturday matinée week after week. Produced on budgets not much larger than Ed Wood ever had, and on sets sometimes recycled from film to film, they still offered a weekly dose of action and adventure in the days when those terms were not synonymous with earth-splitting explosions, computerized special effects, and "I'll be back." The plots were straightforward; of course, most a/a genre films are simple of plot even today, but there is something about these old cans of cheeze that satisfies more than constant viewings of "Terminatorsaur" and "Predatalienator". The goods guys wear white hats (so to speak) and smell good; the bad guys wear black hats and stink of cigarette smoke; and the simplicity of the 'fex are lovely in themselves. Yeah, things still blow up and burn down, but that is still a function of a/a films, I guess. The logic is, bigger isn't always better, and the serials prove the point.In this Saturday-morning peanut-gallery special, the plan is for the aliens to blow up Earth, so that Mars can take its orbital place and get warm. Out to foil them is Larry, a "security agent," armed only with a .45 and a miraculous suit that lets him fly through the air just by twisting knobs (and jumping on a hidden trampoline for the initial takeoff). Can he stop the terrible zombies from completing their dastardly scheme before the train runs off the track, he gets burned in a raging inferno, or the movie runs out of reels? Return to the theater next week for the next exciting chapter...or just keep playing the tape. Get plenty of popcorn, settle in for a Saturday with the kids to introduce them to what film really was like, and keep your eyes open for Leonard Nimoy, sans ears and "Live Long and Prosper", in an early film appearance! One of the best-remembered of the serials, as well as one of the last ones (Republic stopped producing them in the mid-Fifties or so; check a specialist film-history Web site). Warmly recommended to all, unless you have no tolerance for cheesy sci-fi. I only hope it comes out on DVD eventually, and with Nimoy to comment on it or do a special feature!

cshep When viewing "Zombies of the Stratosphere " out of the context of the 1950's, it can be said that the serial falls short of avg. standards, but that said, if you have a Sat. afternoon to spend with your son, and conditions warrant you from going outside, then get out the popcorn, warm up the VCR, and pop in this adventure!!! While evil Martians(Zombies) plot to knock the Earth out of its orbit, with an Atomic(Hydrogen) bomb, Larry Martin and friends , outwit and out hustle, this dedicated group of Evil Doers, with 11 Chapters of car crashing , boat chasing, robot fighting, cliff hangers, that may amuse the over 35 crowd, and could delight younger viewers, whose Fantasy of Flight, is fulfilled, from those of us that are gravity challenged !!! Even the Female leads fight , and are not intimidated by the Outer Space villains !!! While the plot is so-so , this serial is very nostalgic , of a time when the future held so much promise, and the Universe, that was so close, still held so much mystery !!! Get the COLOR version, much more depth !!! Watch the landings onto the Spaceships, by flying humans, needs a little work !!! Enjoy !!!