S Squared

A great thriller. Bruce Willis was awesome in this role. We were all so used to seeing him in traditional cop and good guy roles through the years but he outdid himself as the cold calculating killer. Poitier is always a joy to watch and though he didn't receive very complimentary reviews as Mulqueen, I loved Richard Gere's performance. The story itself was a little difficult to believe but if watching this film just for entertainment value, it's a very engaging yarn. Worth the watch!

As a pre-teen in the early 60s, I became enamored with the Balmer/Wylie When and After Worlds Collide novels. I read those stories so many times large portions of both novels became imbedded in my memory. It wasn’t until years later that I saw this film. I really didn’t WANT to see it in fear it would not do the original stories justice; I was right. After seeing it for the first time, I was so disappointed I never saw it again for many years. However, now that a good deal of time has gone by, I can see what this film tried to do and so I enjoy it immensely. I realized the film is definitely limited because of the era and film technology. Some of the acting and SFX borders on cheesy but this was 1951 and this film was the entertainment of my parent’s generation. In fact, the film captures the post-war era in all its glory; the subordination of women (all girls) and the patriarchal thinking of post-war America, the unrelieved bustle of 1950s urban America, the brand-new United Nations, the popular entertainment of the day, the infancy of computer science, corporate CEOs happily contributing to the general welfare without a price for themselves, the military still elevated on a pedestal, the strong religious thinking and belief, the expectation of all to conform (refer to Billy Joel’s Allentown) and the general feeling of 1950s post-war hedonism and success. For the lack of effects technology, this film, like The Day the Earth Stood Still and Earth vs the Flying Saucers, captures the birth of the epic sci-fi movie that followed along with an America beginning to look to the stars and realizing the day of actually getting there was close at hand. View this film with a light heart and realize this film was created in the days right after World War Two and for all its goofy failings, is based on a wonderful sci-fi story, most definitely ahead of its time, of amazing human trials, perseverance, and survival. This story is in the realm of real possibility even now. Enjoy!