BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

rodrig58 This movie could have been a good movie, it had some potential: the presence of Donald Sutherland, Will Patton and the sexy Julie Warner. There are a few good scenes but, overall, the movie is a failure. If you have some cinematic culture, not too much, you're gonna give me right. See it and you'll convince yourself if I'm right or not.

Heathcliff Probably produced following the smash success of The X Files, The Puppet Masters is a pretty solid slice of alien invasion pulp fiction. The casting is good, with Eric Thal and Julie Warner proving to be charming enough stand-ins for Mulder and Scully. Elsewhere, sci-fi genre fans may appreciate the appearances of Yaphet Kotto (Alien), Keith David (The Thing) and of course the great Donald Sutherland (Invasion Of The Body Snatchers).Behind the camera, it's an unusually British affair with director Stuart Orme, cinematographer Clive Tickner, and composer Colin Towns all heralding from the UK. They do nice work - Orme provides a tense and pacey first half, Tickner's very fine work lends a stylish visual sheen, and Towns' music is lushly complex.However, although it starts out well, the flick loses some energy and traction around the middle and doesn't get it back. Its potential begins to slip away and I'm not quite sure why. Maybe budget/script cuts. The last third in particular, with its under-powered action set-pieces and somewhat perfunctory ending, suggests that the film had hit the glass ceiling of its production resources... or perhaps even its creators' full interest.Nevertheless, it's an enjoyable sci-fi thriller for a good part of its running time. Might make a nice viewing companion with The Hidden (1987) or certainly any number of old X Files episodes!

Shawn Watson Unfortunate enough to share a name with a brand of dirt-cheap Charles Band movies (but completely disconnected from them) I always figured that The Puppet Masters would be just as schlocky. It ain't art, but it is decent, low-brow, brainless entertainment.A bunch of alien manta-rays land in Iowa in a confusing opening sequence. The authorities arrive and discover that the locals are slowly being turned into mindless slaves to their alien hosts. Sound like the X-Files? It very much does play out like a 3-part episode with virtually the exact same character dynamic and interaction. The tagline for the movie is even 'Trust no one'.It also feels like a John Carpenter movie in some respects (the presence of Keith David, who really ought to be in every movie, only adds to this). And while it's a fairly non-epic movie it does feature some nice anamorphic Panavision photography and a bunch of character actors to keep you entertained in-between the silly plot developments.As well as feeling the X-Files it also comes across as an Invasion of the Body Snatchers rip-off, odd since co-star Donald Sutherland was in one of those movies. Four years later another very similar film called The Faculty also featured mind-controlling alien parasites, as well as the Brain Slugs from Futurama. But apparently it's taken from a novel of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein but with little in common, perhaps thanks to a zillion re-writes.These kinds of movies often have some kind of political subtext, but Puppet Masters embraces its low-brow but clever silliness and ends up a guilty pleasure.

Richie-67-485852 What we are looking for in Sci-fi is a good story that enables us to join in. We want to be thrilled and have our wonderment, our inquisitiveness fed in large does where we can get it. Enter the Puppet Masters. I would have preferred a better title for this movie, but this one is very accurate and will do. This movie will allow you to see a lesser form of life but equally intelligent in its own way and try to dominate our species playing by our rules and on our playing field. What you will see is how well they go about it methodically making advancements and that is what successful war or invading your enemy is all about. These Alien play to win and we play to lose until we figure out this isn't a play over game if you lose. The acting brings it all close to home and the plot is easy to follow. The story is targeted to any age group and intriguing. To observe Aliens who use their brains instead of their weaponry leaves one frightened. It mentally and emotionally assaults mankind because we know we are the superior being on this planet. For something less in appearance to invade us and succeed is truly frightening not to mention a wake-up call. This was worthy of being a full blown move with a sequel and a prequel potential. I watch it with captions on because I like to hear every word spoken when the Aliens and the humans have a face to to face. Waste no more time reading this review...go watch the movie right now