With Peter Cushing at the helm, the movie succeeds on every level. The post-apocalyptic look and feel is perfect. The Daleks are fantastic, look the part as evil conquerors. The flying saucer is perfect. Louise is perfect. The premise of the story becomes real with the setting of it in the commonplace. The four travelers are split up into pairs that then become trios in their trip to Bedford losing nothing in the process. The pairing and the de-pairing are nicely done. The Tom-Louise pair-up has great humor. The scene where Louise accidentally turns on the food dispenser and the subsequent scenes involving the disposal chute are from humor heaven, not to mention the scene where Tom acts as one of the robo-men. Subsequently they are joined by the worker at the mine and the three together play a moment to remember. Basically not one character in the movie is without its share of memorable moments. Tom carrying a comb and the Doctor using it to escape is another gift of the gods not to mention his 'back in the cell' question when stopped by the Daleks. Susan's encounter with the two women at the cottage is a special segment in the movie as it adds a fairy-tale feel to it for a moment. When they are betrayed, it is a huge relief not to have to listen to a lecture on morals. The pace throughout the movie is spontaneous. The Doctor putting on the hand gloves is a nice touch, as is Susan's large-print message right in front their eyes all the time they are arguing about where she is. The wheel-chair-bound leader knows exactly what he is doing and is immune to the self-righteous syndrome. His final scene is the closing of a chapter. The mercenary is a cameo. There are no heroes. The action sequences are absorbing, particularly those involving the van and the Daleks closing ranks to spray explosive gases. The scene where the Doctor walks out of the cottage to find himself surrounded by Daleks is gorgeous as is the Doctor's speech to the Daleks towards the end. In this movie it is easy to believe that the Daleks are anything but motorized dustbins. There is chemistry whenever the Doctor and the Daleks meet. The Daleks' first appearance in the movie, slowly rising out of the water, is another gorgeous touch. Susan being pulled both by the Doctor and the resistance fighter with a Dalek hurtling towards them is a delightful touch. Daleks helplessly hurtling to their doom is surprisingly poignant. The sets and the lighting are as good as anything today. Inside the Dalek stronghold, the colors of the Daleks and the bomb and the consoles are mixed and matched to perfection. Returning full circle to the stick-up in London as if nothing had happened in the interim was wonderful.
Review of Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.
