release year: 1968
genre: sci-fi
viewing setting: home DVD, 1/5/2000
what I expected: no idea
what I got: sci-fi that started out promising but became somewhat incoherent
synopsis: A spaceship is unearthed below London, and only the intrepid Professor Quatermass seems to have any idea what to do.
impressions: It started off really strong - classic sci-fi, with the people having no idea what the hell this thing was, having to deal with its mysterious properties, following clues from the past, and so on. The problem, as is typical with this sort of plot (see Sphere and Phantoms) was that the actual truth couldn't live up to the expectations the movie set up. By the end, I wasn't sure whether to be puzzled or to laugh.
acting: Not bad, but nothing exceptional. There wasn't really one main star - that duty seemed shared by several people.
final word: Good start, mediocre finish. Decent sci-fi, though a bit dated.
rating: C