Watch V: The Final Battle For Free

I wanted to but couldn't!

Admirable film.

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

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I thought it would be neat, for my 2,000th review, to go back to part of my beginning. And 7½ hours later...I grew up on V. No, not the awesome Vendetta film from DC decades later. And I'm not talking about the super-vamp drug from True Blood or the hard-to-get-through 2009 remake.I'm talking about the Badass Badler and Super-Hot Singer Star Wars knockoff of the early 80s. In fact, V *was* my Star Wars.Back when I was between 9-12ish, I consumed this show/concept. While it only had two miniseries (sorta movies, sorta seasons) and one official season (or, as labelled, Season 3,) it practically became my world. I watched it live and all the reruns I could plan out. And no, my family couldn't afford a VCR until a few years later, so I did my best by the TV guide and commercial previews.It wouldn't make much sense to me until this viewing that one of the biggest reasons I fell in love with V was the show's creator. He also created another favorite show of mine growing up and pre-V: The Incredible Hulk. I had the same feeling about that show as I did V and they shared the same creator: Kenneth Johnson.I digress, once the show's finale (3rd season spoiler) created peace in the world, and I began my teen years, I grew apart from the show/concept and never to return any of the Vniverse until 35-freaking-years later.When I thought of what I could celebrate my 2,000th review with, this made sense as my 1,000th celebratory review was the very first movie I'd ever remember seeing: 1975's Escape to Witch Mountain. V was a huge part of my childhood and memories, but I had no idea what kind of commitment I had to give to review this. I mean, seven and a half hours?! Fine, I had nothing else going on this weekend, so why not?I'll tell you why not and why I can't give it a huge recommendation. For today's audiences anyways. It's way too padded. It's easy to figure out why, but it's a chore nowadays when we have more options of what to watch online and wasn't relying on a non-VCR, heck, non-internet world in 1983. These two miniseries/seasons could've/should've been easily edited down to about 4 hours, ish.At the time, though, it was epic. Not just for the preteen in me, but for the ambition they had. They had top-notch FX (for TV) and world-building that they did oh so well. I truly felt this world of V (for visitors) could have existed. Yes, there are special effects we would scoff at today, mostly the flying sequences, but for the most part, it was practical effects and sets. I can totally see the 9-12 year old in me loving and believing this world was realistic.From what I'm told, the concept was supposed to be a retelling of the Nazi regime in modern (1983) times, but those in charge thought no one would buy it (fast-forward to the trump presidency of these modern times and, well...) and Star Wars was hot back then, so they switched it to an alien invasion. In any case, that worked and totally made sense and is more believable. The world is invaded by "peaceful" Visitors who come from a dying planet. Their mission is to share their resources and technology in exchange for hospitality. As most dictatorships develop, "They Come in Peace" and slowly/surely take control of society. Ahh, but Vive la résistance!The show/series/seasons began with Star Wars-types of tropes and ends with flat-out theft of the Original Trilogy. Again, as a kid, I was fine with it. At the time, anyways, the only way for a kid to see Star Wars was to go to the theatre for the first-run Return of the Jedi, for one of the many re-releases of IV and V (Episode 5 in this case) and pray one of the five channels we got ran them in prime time.I literally have not seen the V original series or singular season since around/about 1985ish and boy do I remember plenty of it, this time around. This does prove to me how much this show did mean to me.Fun Facts: I was in total love with Marc Singer during the show, though I didn't know what that meant since I didn't know what "gay" was at the time. I totally dug Diana as one of my all-time favorite villains. She was so deliciously evil and charismatic. I also loved Faye Grant as the leader and every-person and Freddy Kruger! Well, not yet, but I did like Robert Englund as Willie. Oh, and lest I forget Michael Ironside, which I was in love with internally and externally, as well. Back then, I couldn't get enough of this show. Every character meant something to me, every battle and scheme had me truly involved and on the edge of my seat and, mercifully, the plot, dialogue and adventures were easy enough for my preteen mind to wrap around. THIS was perfect for my age back then and no matter what I feel now (ah-hem, only 4/5 stars,) V will always have a special place in my heart. Only, I don't think I'll ever rewatch the show again. Once every 35 years is enough nostalgia...and honestly, I don't think I have another 35 years left. Is it V for Visitors or V for Victory?***Final thoughts: Couple of other good things I loved/love about these two miniseries: a VERY good score, only to be improved in the "3rd" season and some actual laugh out loud humor that, surprisingly, still works today. I was honestly pretty impressed with some of the dialogue and delivery.

This is told from the Resistance point of view. As they try to capture the aliens that seem to be friendly people that want to help the world. Only to find out how devious that they really are and expose them.As led by Mike Donovan played by the great and underrated Marc Singer who really got a raw deal in Hollywood. By not letting him showcase his acting talents.Still it is really fascinating how the V show and the mini series put the science fiction since it was pretty dead on the map again briefly. With great writing and great acting.Will admit while I liked the great and terribly, underrated Michael Ironside, his character Ham Tyler was a jerk and just one dimensional. As it took later episodes for his character to grow and not be unemotional as we learn about the character's past.Ignore the newer short-lived ABC version as that sounds really not so good.

Catholic influences are sprinkled throughout this science fiction adventure, taking shortcuts to material and moral dilemmas. Miracles replace human endeavors, while the species-centric nature of the writing glosses over genocidal decisions. The fifth column is reduced to helping in a lopsided partnership. Is that the best writers can do? I surely hope that the new series on ABC will do more justice to these not-insignificant problems, just as the early seasons of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica (another show ruined by unnecessary religious plot devices) did. Is religious fanaticism not the cause of untold crusades? What would it say about humanity if we must rely on religion to fight the dark forces?

In 1983, one of the best-rated miniseries broadcast on television in the English-speaking world was V, a quaint little story about aliens landing on Earth and using Hitleresque tactics to take it over. The scenario is only unbelievable because of where the invaders come from. Their motives, and the means that these motives drive them to, make the scenario so real that it's almost scary.The Final Battle picks up at an unspecified time after the original V. The resistance has been struggling to put dents in the Vistors' ability to carry out their sinister plans, but things aren't going so well. A new and improved form of armour ensures that the kind of weapons normally available to the resistance are effectively useless. The fact that most of humanity is being kept in the dark about what is really going on doesn't help matters any.In order to deal with the latter problem, the resistance conceives a plan to unmask the Vistors' leader on television. They figure that since television can be used for propaganda by the vistors, they can manipulate it to the same end. At first, they seem to succeed, even at tremendous cost. But the media's unrivalled ability to tell the people what to think or believe backfires on them. Enter the professional mercenaries who begrudgingly help them with a new armour-piercing ammunition and various other kinds of tools that allow them to put up a more effective fight.It sounds like a great follow-up, but looking back on it twenty years later, it really isn't. For one thing, this sequel seems so determined to wrap up every loose end that there is precious little time for character development. The old characters escape this mainly because they were given a lot of it in the original series. However, they don't progress much further from that point. Donovan is still an adventurer who would take on the entire Visitor army by himself if he could. Julie is still a confused, grumpy young woman who wonders why she, of all people, would be chosen to lead this outfit. Robert Maxwell is still the affable scientist who is torn by his need to protect his daughters, no matter what the cost is. Daniel and Eleanor are still the weak, insubstantial forms who don't realise that when all opposition is eliminated, they'll be the first ones up against the wall. If it hadn't been for the original miniseries, you'd know very little about these characters at the beginning of The Final Battle, and even less at the end.Not that it is all bad. Some of the loose ends are tied up so well that they become classic moments in television history. The fate of Brian is one of the most haunting moments in the story, reflecting a situation that has happened in many wars before now, and will happen in many wars to come. The use of germ warfare against the Visitors is an old story, harkening back to the classic War Of The Worlds scenario. Little was known about the nature of bacteria or virii in Wells' day, so it is even more satisfying that this time around they are able to give it some setup, making the payoff seem less like Deus Ex Machina. The little saga between Caleb and Elias Taylor is also given a payoff that will go down in television history as a classic moment. That Michael Wright and Jason Bernard didn't get more work than they did after this stellar performance is one of the many injustices of the Hollywood system.A special mention, of course, must go to Michael Ironside and Mickey Jones. When we are first introduced to their characters, we're almost bracing ourselves for yet another Rambo type. While we know little more about Chris Faber in the end than we did when we first see him, there's just enough in this series to make Ham Tyler seem vaguely three-dimensional. This, in turn, is a lot more than what can be said for most of the other characters unique to The Final Battle.Interestingly, a new miniseries has been announced with the original series creator Kenneth Johnson at the helm, and with key members of the original cast having already signed on. Whether Johnson intends to ignore or downplay this series remains unknown, but unfortunately, most of The Final Battle could simply be ignored without consequence. Most of the story seems more like a predefined statement of mission goals rather than any dramatic conflict as was shown in the original series, so in this instance, I'd just savour the classic moments and forget the rest. In all, a six out of ten seems about right.