One of the most creative SciFi movies ever. If some things look familiar, it is because later movies copied it. Very intelligent and mysterious film.

I finally caught up with this after hearing for years that it was a thinly disguised sci-fi version of The Tempest. As something of a Shakespeare buff I spent most of the time looking for counterparts of Prospero, Miranda, Ariel, Caliban etc and was mostly disappointed; clearly Morbius is Prospero, his daughter is Miranda but thereafter it gets hazy. Robbie, given his range of abilities could arguably be Ariel but it is a stretch whilst the monster from the Id is clearly Caliban and there's even a Trinculo in the shape of the cook, Earl Holliman but Leslie Nielson is about as far from Ferdinand as you can get, nor did he stumble upon the planet/island but went there deliberately and far from 'summoning' him Prospero/Morbius makes a serious effort to discourage him from landing. Several reviews posted here have lauded it strictly as a sci-fi movie with no mention of The Tempest but I can't really go along with that point of view.

The pure, essential essence of 1950's-era science fiction. It's primitive in a way--but you have to accept that. It's not like they had decades of science fiction film tropes to refer to so none of the slow kids would get lost. They also didn't have a million and one expert science fiction writers to call upon to write the script. They had to settle for what they had, but it was wonderful. In order to appreciate this film you have to stop judging it and comparing it to other films from other times. It is the best of its type for its time, and then it is also a wonderful, almost accidental masterpiece. Robbie the Robot is the first GOOD movie robot. The space ship is the first GOOD movie space ship. The story is the first (and almost the last) GOOD movie space story. You may not understand the story the first time through. Don't be a jerk and blame the script. You missed something. Watch it again. Then, finally, after you understand what is going on ("my poor Krell") and you're no longer gagging on the stupid sexual innuendo (yes, it's dumb, get over it) you can really sit back and enjoy one of life's true intellectual pleasures. The strange story of how one may live a life of the mind, and nothing else, inspired by a long- dead civilization and their hideous technology. Forbidden Planet. Father of Star Trek.

Believe it or not, there was a time when sci-fi films didn't have CGI filled action sequences, massive sets, or far-fetched plot twists and turns. Forbidden Planet was one of the first films to encompass all of the aforementioned things, albeit in an entirely different manner. I'm currently in the midst of trying to watch and re-watch as many sci- fi features as I can and Forbidden Planet happened to be the next on my ledger. This film can easily be considered a forgotten gem, but ironically, it's one of the films that paved the way for countless other films to be made. This was before Star Trek or Star Wars and yet, it still makes an impact on me after I've spent years of my life cherishing those properties. Without a large scale budget or expensive cast, Forbidden Planet works as a solid think piece. The film deals with a star ship crew from the 23rd century exploring a planet that was thought to be the landing place of a previous crew years earlier. Who or what they find is a complete mystery. For the most part, Forbidden Planet is a slow-burning film. There's little to no action, and any scene of injury or consequence often happens off-screen. In other words, the words spoken usually have a bigger impact than anything you see. With that said, the sets and painted backgrounds are easy on the eyes, especially considering this film was made over 60 years ago. But most of all, the ideas and themes explored here are impressive to say the least. It's always interesting to go back and watch films that you didn't realize had such a profound impact on the way a certain genre is made now. Forbidden Planet is certainly one of those.8.1/10