DALEKS’ INVASION EARTH: 2150 A.D. (1966) *** ½
A warning. This review is coming from a non-Dr. Who fan. I think I’ve only seen one episode of Dr. Who in my entire life and that was way back when the frizzy haired guy was playing him. Before I watched this movie, I didn’t know a Dalek from a TARDIS. All I knew about this flick was that it had Peter Cushing in it and that seemed like an okay way to kill 80 minutes to me. Much to my surprise, I enjoyed the Hell out of Daleks’ Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.
A cop gets knocked on the head by a thief during a robbery. He goes to a telephone booth for help and discovers it’s actually a time machine created by Dr. Who (Peter Cushing). Together, they blast off to the year 2150 where the Daleks (killer trash cans) rule the ashes of the old world. They turn humans into slaves and plan to convert Earth into a giant spaceship to get them back home. It’s up to Dr. Who and a few resistance fighters to stop the Daleks and save the planet.
I bet the Whovians (or whatever they call Dr. Who fans) didn’t like the cop character, but I kinda dug him. He’s only there so Dr. Who can explain to him (and the audience) what the Hell is going on. (Example: What the Hell a TARDIS is.) So for someone like me (READ: A non-Who fan), his character was kinda crucial.
The Daleks in this movie are pretty fucking cool. They kinda look like R2-D2 on steroids. I don’t know how they stack up to the Daleks from the TV show (the Whovians don’t consider the Cushing movies canon), but I thought they were gnarly. I especially loved the way they got all uptight and screamed shit like “EXTERMINATE!” in a mechanized voice whenever things didn’t go their way.
If the film does have a flaw, it’s that Dr. Who isn’t on screen much in the second half. Once his family escapes the Daleks, they split up and the film cuts back and forth between him, his niece, his granddaughter, and the cop. Dr. Who does show up near the end though to figure out the Daleks’ weakness and kick their robot ass.
Cushing gives a wonderful performance as Dr. Who. I don’t know how he measures up to the other Dr. Whos (there’s been like a dozen of them), but he’s Peter Fucking Cushing, so I’d say he’s probably one of the best. He’s got a twinkle in his eye in this movie and you can clearly tell he’s having a ball. I did too. Maybe I should start watching the TV show.
AKA: Dr. Who: Daleks’ Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.