SPECIES *** OF **** grade is B
SPECIES writer Dennis Feldman is some kind of genius. He does the most obvious thing with Species, adding T&A to an alien sci-fi flick. Now the 11-25 year old males can have a ball, on the edge of their seats and saliva drooling from their collective mouths. Species is good entertainment that has originality and eroticism to spare.
A signal from the stars told us to mix alien DNA with ours to create an offspring. They make the offspring female and name her Sil. She ages rapidly and might grow out of control, they decide to terminate the project with cyanide gas. Sil escapes with a fury and is unleashed on the public. As she caches a train a group of "hunters" are formed to track and eliminate her.
The "hunters" are a mixed bag of specialists, either scientists or mercenaries, and have surprisingly well developed personalities. The alien, Sil (Natasha Henstridge), looks fresh out of the pages of PLAYBOY. She comes to the conclusion that she must find a man and mate, her looks are definitely not a handicap, but the specialists seem just one step behind her.
This movie does a fair job of building suspense, especially during an exciting climax, yet has it's share of cats jumping from trees and false scares - good only for a shallow jump. Species doesn't seem too interested in suspense but instead with gore and nudity, and both are offered up throughout.
Overall, Species is a fun film that offers some cheap joys and little brain. I have a certain loathing for films in which aliens are disgusting, saliva soaked things with no brains, yet are supposed to be smarter than us. After Aliens there have been many copycats and none have come close. This isn't the best copycat and doesn't try to be, we get an original take on the old idea and a certain amount of fun.
There is energy and flare to this film that seems unusual for a sci-fi film (most of which just go through the motions). We get a wonderful climax and some interesting scenes and acting in between. We also get a lot of nudity from Natasha Henstridge. She seems to take it off with every scene of this film as she tries to seduce men so she can become pregnant. I heard one kid say that if human life - as we know it - depended on him NOT having sex with Natasha Henstridge, we better get ready for change. I guess that is part Species is trying to make: Would you rather watch a living male fantasy, quasi-human, horny as hell, naked as hell, forever stripping and spilling out of outfit, babe seduce men or Judge Dredd shout "I am the Law!" Tough choice.
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