This sequel doesn’t have the narrative thrust of the original – which was a chase movie – but is still fast-paced and gripping entertainment. It’s quite full on too – the plot centers around an alien invasion of England, coming out of a top secret base which is guarded by henchmen with machine guns… and this is years before James Bond movies. (Just like in the Bonds, Brian Donlevy goes undercover as one of the henchman to access the baddies’ base in the climax).
Donlevy is more wobbly than in the previous film. Like that movie the final creature is a big pile of mucus – surely they could have come up with something a bit more threatening looking? John Longden replaces Jack Warner as Inspector Lomax – Longden is a familiar face to fans of 30s Hitchcock and Ken G Hall, and it’s a shock to see him so old. Sid James also pops up as a journo who gets machined gunned down – quite a jolt, that scene. Indeed, the death toll for this is quite high the film has a very ambitious canvass, dealing with world domination, aliens taking over the government, and firing rockets at the moon. This apocalyptic spectacle means I give it the same mark as the first one in the series, even if it doesn’t have the first one’s energy or freshness.
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