The Black Hole - Review - Part 2

With Dwayne's Robot Romper Room concentrating on the robots from Disney's Black Hole, I thought I would write a review of it.  However, I have not seen the movie since it was in theaters.  That fact made me want to do a two part review.  The first part was my recollection of the movie from that time.  The second part -- this one -- would be from me watching it today on DVD.

The reviewing review:

Well, that was a bit of a surprise. I was worried that it would not hold up, but it did pretty well.  The plot was pretty much what I outlined in the first review.  What I had not remembered was what Dr. Reinhardt's secret was.  However, the link from the Palomino crew and the Cygnus was Kate McCrae's father was supposedly on-board.  I had not quite remember that detail. 

Aside from the atrocious physics, the effects and the story do pretty well.  Clearly, Albert Einstein was not consulted in the making of this movie.  However, as just a popcorn muncher, it moves well.  It has all of the well worn cliche's from the westerns.   "Go on without me, I am done for!" was not exactly spoken, but that is in there.  The worshiping character who is the last to discover the truth.  The selfish character who betrays the rest only to die.  It is all well worn ground.  That is probably why many people give this movie bad reviews.

However, the nostalgia factor makes me continue to enjoy this movie.  Slim Pickens was probably the best part of the movie for me.  His performance still holds up -- as does Roddy McDowell's.  The effects were pretty good, and for the most part not simply used for the wow factor.  (Although there are a few of those.)  You can tell this was not a low budget movie.  They took care in the effects.

The small problems I had was why would robots need target practice?  And, why would they care if they won or lost?  This scene was used for character building of the robots (both the good guys and the bad), but it does not make a lot of sense.  If I were watching it fresh, I think i would find Maximilian Schell's performance was a bit over the top.  The ending still stinks!

I have to say this movie still holds up.  The visual effects do not look too cheesy.  The story does not mess around.  Things happen and they happen quickly.  It has a bit of the Forbidden Planet feel to it -- especially at the beginning.  You definitely do not have to wait around for the shoes to drop.  They drop quickly and often.  Thus, I felt that it had good pacing.  It has plenty of action and drama.  I will stick with my 3.5 stars.  It is not the greatest movie.  It was clearly made as an answer to Star Wars, so it pales in comparison.  However, you can tell the bad guys from the good.  The story does not get in the way of the effects and vice versa.  It is just a fun movie.