Rating: - "They're not really bad, they're just . . . stupid!"
So says young Kathy Hoxly (played by Arianna Richards) and that about sums it up. A five-martian crew on asteroid patrol intercepts a halloween radio broadcast of Orson Wells'"War of the Worlds" and, thinking it's the real thing, decide to hit the Earth, which they do, literally. Between slapstick sight gags, some slick comic dialogue and some truly unique trick-or-treating, this Sci-Fi spoof hits on all cylinders, or whatever they call them in that space thingamajig. Royal Dano is excellent as Mr Wrenchmuller, who thinks his pictures of the invading Martians are just the ticket to save his failing farm. Unfortunately, its hard to tell who's the brains of the team, Mr Wrenchmuller or his dog "Jim".

The Martian crew, led by Captain Bipto and his sidekick "Ferndroid", bumble their way through the invasion, pursued by the irate inhabitants of the town of Big Bean and an equally irate "enforcer drone" who's out to see that they succeed or die trying (or is that frying?). The action moves at a hectic clip, accompanied by the frequent commentary of cynical Navigator/Pilot Blazney.

A bewildering display of alien technology is displayed, or at least referred to, including heat rays, donuts of destruction, fried megaspazz redundancy piles, bruised boo-boos and a loveable polypropelene droidlet called "Shortstuff", all accompanied by the frantic war cry "Prepare to die, Earth scum!"

The wildly disparate plot elements come together for a clever, multi-tiered ending that is both comical and emotionally satisfying.

Two suggestions: Don't eat before watching this movie, and leave yourself plenty of rug to roll around on.

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