It is a film that embodies the seriousness of a small planet that threatens the Earth, as Americans try to wade their experience to protect the planet. There seems to be a huge disaster facing them.
The suspense is sludgy and the character development nil; even the inadvertent comedy is spotty. The spectacle of Manhattan's demolition is interesting enough, but there's a lot of time-killing before the city actually goes up in flames.
Film4
May 24, 2003
The presence of a star (Connery), a great actor (Howard) and Fonda doing his turn as the US president add no credibility to an old-fashioned concept.
The all-star cast can only do so much to liven up the proceedings, with director Ronald Neame gradually losing tension as the film drags out the obvious for far too long.
A grab-the-money-and-run disaster opus with a slumming Connery and Wood ludicrious as a Russian scientist. Too bad the set wasn't hit by a giant falling space rock.
