20 Million Miles to Earth has a plot similar to all too many fifties creature features, following an alien creature that is brought to Earth and unwittingly set loose. It borrows from movies ranging from The Thing to King Kong, and the characters are figures you have met in a dozen other movies like this. Why should you watch it?
The answer is some excellent special effects by Ray Harryhausen. The Ymir is depicted with surprising realism, with many shots holding up even today.Although stop motion animation may not compare with the best CGI works,such as Jurassic Park, at its best it is more than a match for the lame computer graphics that characterize most modern creature features.(e.g. Anything produced by the SyFy Channel)
As the first paragraph makes clear, this film has a lot of flaws. Aside from its unoriginality, the film's first half moves slowly, and gives too much attention to an annoying young Italian boy who vanishes during the second half. Nevertheless, 20 Million Miles to Earth should be on the watch list of any special effects enthusiast.
The answer is some excellent special effects by Ray Harryhausen. The Ymir is depicted with surprising realism, with many shots holding up even today.Although stop motion animation may not compare with the best CGI works,such as Jurassic Park, at its best it is more than a match for the lame computer graphics that characterize most modern creature features.(e.g. Anything produced by the SyFy Channel)
As the first paragraph makes clear, this film has a lot of flaws. Aside from its unoriginality, the film's first half moves slowly, and gives too much attention to an annoying young Italian boy who vanishes during the second half. Nevertheless, 20 Million Miles to Earth should be on the watch list of any special effects enthusiast.