Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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158 of 159 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
V The final Battle don't get confused, 28 April 2004
V The final Battle is great. This is the continuation of V The MiniSeries.
The important thing is to know in which order you should watchthis series if you are really interest.
1. V The mini series which is where the Alien make their first contact.(One two sided DVD about 3 hours)
2. V The final Battle which continues where the mini series finished. (TwoDVDs, One two sided DVD and the other one, one side only in total about 4hours).
3. V The complete Series which are 19 episodes after V the final battle.By the way this DVD has not been released yet. I have pre-order it inAmazon.com (July 2004). Hopefully with this comment Amazon.co.uk wouldhave it before so I can pre-order it here instead. (3 DVDs about 800min).
I hope this comment help as it is very annoying to watch it in adifferent order.
Just four stars because the special effects are not brilliant but if wewere in 1984 I would say more than 5 stars.
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49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A must for fans but may prove very dated for newcomers., 15 Oct 2002
"V - The Final Battle" concludes the story started in the previous DVD "V - The Mini Series". The chnaces are if you are looking to buy this DVD you already know what to expect having purchased the previous one, but for newcomers, let me explain.V was a popular mini series from the 1980's that told the story of an invading alien race who come to Earth to rob it of its water and process human beings for food. It was not an all out invasion as such, the aliens came in peace and gradually began to take over by "converting" people and through lies and deceit. There are many parallels in the story to the persucation of the Jews in WWII and the aliens, the "Visitors", are portrayed in the same vein as an Earth based fascist society. What makes V stand out from its peers is the great relationship that the various characters share, this is not so much an effects extravaganza (although they were good for the time and budget), as it is a story of how different people cope and react to a fascist regime and the threat of extinction. Younger people who don't remember the series originally may not be particularly impressed by V, but for the younger sci fi fan, it is essential viewing. V inspired many of ideas in later sci fi blockbusters including Independance Day and The Matrix, which just goes to show how influential it was. The DVD itself contains two discs (one of which is double sided) and the final three episodes from the five part mini series at approximately an hour and a half running time per episode. There are precious little in the way of extras but you do get a lot of viewing for the money. Just remember you need to buy the first DVD as well!!!
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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Visitors continue their quest to take Earth, 22 Mar 2005
Following on from the hugely successful original mini series, V The Final Battle, continues the story of a group of resistance fighters and their attempts to show the rest of the World that the alien reptilians, disguised in human appearance, who have arrived on Earth, are in fact manipulators who wished to enslave mankind by eating them or using them as soldiers in their fight against another alien race. By the time the second mini series had arrived, the original series devisor and writer, Kenneth Johnson, had left the production following a dispute over the reduction of costs avoided to The Final Battle.
In retrospect the cost reductions do not affect the overall look of the series, if anything the effects are more streamlined, the effects in particularly the models used for the Motherships look far more detailed and impressive then in the first series, and nearly all the original cast return, alongside some new additions. Perhaps what is missed however is the dark gritty look that Johnson strived to achieve in his original perception of the series. The Final Battle is less horrific and more like other science fiction serials. The incidental music is also more upbeat this time round. Finally the obvious Nazi overtures are less prevalent. For those who enjoyed the original series, Johnson and his influence are therefore missed for the reasons mentioned above. However the first episode, which is also easily the best of the three, keeps the viewer entertained with various subplots, plenty of action and interesting characterisation. For example the two women who previously made up main character Mike Donovan's life, both undergo interesting developments. Whilst his ex girlfriend Christine, who has become known as a collaborator of the Visitors, realises the true purpose of their arrival on Earth and repents, his Mother is now totally obedient to the aliens. She is prepared to end her marriage and even attempts to shoot Donovan in her attempt to be totally loyal to the Visitors. One feels that she is essentially scared of dying and believes her only chance of survival is to collaborate, in contrast to her son who sees resistance as the only hope of the human race surviving the invasion. It is also interesting that it is his Mother who takes over from Christine as Visitor spokesperson for the humans.
Daniel the wayward youth first seen in the original series, is another character also under complete control of the Visitors, being manipulated by the phoney friendship of Visitor Brian. Strangely, however, his parents are not featured in the series despite a prominent role previously. Indeed were not for a brief clip of his dad and perhaps his mother (although it seems that a different actress was used), celebrating the end of the Visitor War in the final episode, it could have been speculated that Daniel had turned them both in. Perhaps this scene had been included to answer any queries about their fate.
Episode 2 introduces the excellent Michael Ironside in the memorable role of Ham Tyler. Ham is an anti-hero, who liked to use violence against those who cross him, and his attempts to take over as leader of the Los Angeles resistance movement, result in confrontations with several of the characters. This episode also deals with the aftermath of female Resistance leader, Julie's, capture by the Visitors, following a successful attempt to demask the Visitor leader on televised event. Far too much time is spent on Diane's subsequent attempt to convert Julie with a mind device. Indeed this slows down the story considerably. The final third of the episode deals with the resistance attempts to thwart the Visitors aims to take all the water from California. This story is considerably flawed, not least the idea that one Mothereship could house so much water. In episode 3, the resistance finally discover a way to drive the Visitors away from Earth. It is contrived ending, and one which was glossed over and ultimately forgotten about during the third one hour series. This episode also deals with the aftermath of the birth of Robin's half Visitor babies. In conclusion although not up to the standard of the Original series, the Final Battle is still worth purchasing, and it remains a high point of 1980's television
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