Great Film overall

Absolutely the worst movie.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

About six minutes goes by before a single word is spoken in this. From that point on you often find yourself wondering why they started the dialogue - or even the movie for that matter. Basically, this is a bunch of unknown actors (although Mike Farrell in his pre-MASH days pops up as a reporter who speaks 2 or 3 lines) fighting their way through a weak script and ending up with a movie that's - well - pretty bad. Basically, China has invented some sort of weapon that can destroy the earth, and a mission to Venus is sent off early (with three women replacing three crew members) in order to avoid the destruction. The new crew's mission? To procreate and make sure humanity survives the destruction. There were a handful of moments that created uncertainty, and a real question of who was going to end up surviving once it was discovered that only 3 of the 7 in the crew could actually get to Venus. But then a bad movie turns dreadful with an ending that - to me at least - made absolutely no sense whatsoever. This really isn't worth wasting your time with. Really. It isn't!

We head all the way back to 1972 for the next Funky Burrito of a movie... back to a simpler time. We knew who our enemy was.It was the communists!They were everywhere... In Cuba... In Vietnam... In the Soviet Union... In China!In fact, not only did China threaten our security with the latest in elevator technology, but also threatened the entire world with a Doomsday weapon (that looked very much like a gum-ball machine)! This evil gum-ball weapon was so frightening, that the Soviet Union joined with the top scientific minds in the U.S. to develop a contingency plan: 1) build a spaceship with enough room for La-Z-Boy recliners, desk lamps, and pink terry-cloth robes 2) pick the most emotionally unstable people you can find, make them astronauts 3) send them into space with a clip-board and a crowbar... hope for the best!I know it sounds like a bad plan, but I assure you... Stuart J. Byrne, writer of The Doomsday Machine, spent at least 5-7 minutes researching and then formulating this plot!... And David L. Hewitt, special effects creator, spent slightly less time putting Stuart J. Byrne's vision onto the screen!All throughout this epic journey we're offered glimpses into Byrne's creative mind... a cat-throwing super-spy (no joke)... a talking planet... and a scene where, probably for the first time ever (on film... I'm sure it happens in real life all the time), a person is killed by their own hair!Believe me, you won't need any extra cheese for this stinky burrito!

I put together my Top Ten Worst Movie List some time ago, and find that it's going to be difficult for newcomers to bump any of those titles for the privilege. But "Doomsday Machine" looks like a definite contender, to the extent of making even "The Beast of Yucca Flats" look pretty good by comparison. I've read most of the other reviews on this board to know that I'm not alone on this, in fact it's pretty much an entirely one sided view that this groaner sets the standard for space junk in a vacuum.Interestingly, the only other place I've ever heard the word 'azimuth' was in another sci-fi space turkey, and wouldn't you know it, it popped up here in an early conversation aboard the Astra. Keep your eye on the clock that records the elapsed time following blast off, you'll note that it goes, 2:58, 2:59, and then 2:60 instead of 3:00, which makes perfect sense considering all the other goofy stuff that was going on.Like the selection of astronauts for the mission. Wouldn't you think that the men selected for this flight would have been among the most highly disciplined and talented that NASA had to offer? So how does a guy like Major Mason (Grant Williams) go from seasoned professional to a raving sex maniac? Not a whole lot of thought was put into this.No sense belaboring the point, this was one sad effort in the name of science and cinema. While I'm trying to make up my mind about that aforementioned Worst List, I'll have to reconsider another flick with the same destination. Up till now, I thought "First Spaceship on Venus" had a lock on interplanetary travesties, but now I know better.

"An upcoming space mission to Venus becomes even more vital after a startling secret is revealed. Foreign agents have revealed a secret plot by the Chinese where they have manufactured the ultimate weapon, capable of destroying everything on the surface of the planet. The mission to our sister planet now becomes a fight for the survival of the human race, as the crew must try to save the Earth from destruction," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.Apparently, the "Red" Chinese are preparing to attack the NATO Allies, with nuclear weaponry. So, a 1975 manned (and womanned) space mission to the planet Venus takes on added meaning; if the Earth is destroyed in a nuclear war, the only human survivors may be those people traveling to Venus. These men and women learn they will be playing "Adam" and "Eve" -- except for Henry Wilcoxon (as Dr. Perry), who is portrayed as too old for sex, at age 61 (when this was filmed).There are very few redeeming qualities in "The Doomsday Machine". You will get to see Ruta Lee (as Marion) slap Bobby Van (as Danny) once. You could watch to see how performers like Grant Williams (as Kurt Mason) and Mala Powers (as Georgianna Bronski) handle their unenviable assignment. You might want to admire James Craig (as Haines)'s admirable physique, during his shirtless scene. Or, you could observe how space flight affects ladies' hairstyles. Casey Kasem and Mike Farrell have cameos.