Hot shot member of the UN Space Bureau, Miyoshi, is having one heck of a bad day. After a two-year stint working at UN Space Council's New York headquarters, he returns to his friends at the Council's base in Japan only to discover that: his buddy (Muroi) is engaged to his girl (Jun), the strange vibes from space that have forced space flights in America to be grounded are also grounding expeditions in Japan, the international space station was attacked and...oh yes...that pesky comet scare turns out to be the first sign that an alien race is invading the Earth. If I were Miyoshi, you can bet I'd be on the first plane back to America, where I would then go home, turn off all the lights, climb into bed and pull the covers well up over my head and try to pretend that day was all a terrible, terrible dream. Lucky for audiences (and Earth), Miyoshi is not a simpering fool afraid of a few aliens practicing Manifest Destiny. He's a man of action, and that action centers around reestablishing Earth's space defence force and their super ship, the Gohten, and having the occasional brief-but-dramatic fight sequence set to funky music.

Inspired, in part, by Star Wars (a fact I learned from the interview on the DVD extras, although it's fairly evident, down to the fact that the bad guys lasers are red, and the good guys' fire blue), 1977's War in Space has everything that makes a cheesy Sci-Fi film great: model spaceships blowing up model landmarks using animated laser weapons, rocky alien landscapes, matte paintings, unconvincing monsters, and a green-skinned alien race so similar in physiology to humans as to be able to pass among them with the aide of just the odd bit of latex. (The movie doesn't show any of the females from this alien race, but I'm fairly certain that sometime in the future, Captain Kirk dates a few of them.)

Despite the advanced alien race's best efforts to discourage the reformation of the Gohten spaceship and team, the team reconvenes (even Jimmy, all the way from NASA) and takes the battle off earth, into space, and to the alien base on Venus. Included among the team members are Miyoshi and Muroi, Jun's father (the Captain) and Jun. Jun's father is quick to point out that Jun is not a working with the team as his daughter - but rather as a specialist. "Specialist" is clearly a Japanese term for "plot device" - because when a character is not only the pivotal axis of a romantic triangle but also the Captain's daughter, her presence is likely to be a driving point behind many of the ensemble's actions. And here's a shocker - she's kidnapped by the enemy (specifically by the Supreme Commander of the Empire of Galaxy). And, as their physiology is so similar to ours, it should come as no surprise that they have an appropriate skimpy leather number to outfit her in just lying around.

That's probably an unfair observation. I'm sure the skintight, short set they stick her in is just something that resembles leather. It probably comes from a green-skinned cow.

Obviously, what happens next is a rescue attempt, followed by the Final Battle. Although there are few things more satisfying on a Saturday afternoon than watching two model spaceships blow the holy heck out of one another, I found myself disappointed by the ending to War in Space. This is largely due to the sudden introduction of a secret Ultimate Weapon (so secret that even most of the Gohten crew is unaware of it), which one cannot help but wonder why Earth didn't simply use it when the aliens first invaded. (Actually, I suspect it's a statement on the Atom bomb, which certainly justifies the maudlin speech that accompanies it's launch - but in case of an eventual alien invasion, I hope that Earth's space defense system will work to save Earth first, then make their political statements after.)

This is the first time War in Space is available on DVD, and it's a fine edition. The visuals and audio (even the English dub) are top notch. The DVD extras, however, are less then awe-inspiring. There's the original theatrical trailer, a rather bland collection of black and white stills from the movie, and an interview with the movie's special effects director, Nakano Teruyoshi, which not only discusses ship and effects design, but features some black and white production stills, which for my money are considerably more interesting than the movie stills, because they show the ships out of context, and being dwarfed by the effects staff. The collectible booklet includes some additional still images, and a brief history of the film and soundtrack.

War in Space doesn't offer anything particularly new to the genre, but if you're already a fan and want something fun and familiar, it's not a bad way to pass an hour and a half.