Review of The Black Hole (1979) by Jon T — 16 Jan 2011

It's supposed to be ABOUT a black hole. It's not supposed to BE a black hole. Produced by Disney two years after the release of STAR WARS, and as an answer to George Lucas's saga, this 1979 sci-fi tale about a spaceship crew -- complete with a cutesy talking robot named V.

I.N.CENT. (an uncredited Roddy McDowall) -- trapped on a mad man's craft perched on the edge of the titular force of mass plays out more like 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA in outer space. The aforementioned mad scientist, played to the hilt by Maximillian Schell, is a dead ringer for James Mason's Captain Nemo.

The real problem with THE BLACK HOLE, in addition to being incoherent in terms of space facts (did the scriptwriters know that you can't survive on a hull in outer space without a suit?) is that it is droningly dull for more than two thirds of its 98-minute running time.

With the exception of Schell, the robot V.I.N.CENT. and the even more menacing Darth Vader-esque scarlet giant Maximillian, none of the cast leave any lasting impressions on the audience. John Barry's score is impressive and the special effects are quite amazing for their time--but these saving graces don't mesh into a compelling or coherent sci-fi drama.

The best (and most embarrassing) moment in the film is the trip into the hole itself, in that it offers a frightening spectacle of Heaven and Hell, but it both comes out of nowhere and is no more exciting than a majority of the rest of the movie.