Review of Species (1995) by Lorenzo V — 06 Oct 2008

"For three million years, the human race has been at the top of the evolutionary ladder. Nothing lasts forever".

At a top-secret Utah facility headed up by Dr. Xavier Fitch (Ben Kingsley), scientists have created "Sil" (Natasha Henstridge), a half-human, half-alien product of experiments with DNA codes obtained from beyond the stars. Unfortunately, Sil has escaped. Her primary objective is to mate, and, with the ability to transform herself into an incredibly powerful alien creature, puny humans can't stop her. So Dr. Fitch calls in a quartet of specialists (Forest Whitaker, Michael Madsen, Marg Helgenberger, and Alfred Molina), to attempt Sil's capture. At the same time, Sil is leaving a trail of mostly male corpses in her hormonal wake. The organic-flavored alien designs for Species were provided by H.R. Giger, the artist responsible for the memorable creatures and spaceships of Alien (1979). When MGM decided to cut the spectacular "train birth" sequence in the interest of budget-trimming, Giger personally financed this $100,000 showcase of his work.

Review.

This campy, cheesy, B-grade movie starts off strong. The major players are introduced, the comedy was well-timed and the thrill was executed with precision. The first half was impressive if I put it so bluntly but its sad to say, the second half drags the whole movie down. The ending scene inside the sewer was shoddy and ridiculous. The acting was okay. Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker), Gandhi (Ben Kingley) , CSI lady (Marg Helgenberger) and blonde bombshell Natasha Henstridge who made her debut in this movie was okay in a cheesy, sci-fi/horror kind of way. Species was fun at first, but then it got tiresome when it entered the second act. Watch it at your own risk.