At nearly half the budget of Star Wars - $6 to $7 million dollars - Message from Space was the most expensive movie in Japanese history up until 1980. At the time, it was routinely panned by the critics. Yet watching it nearly 40 years later, I was struck by just how ambitious, fun and strange it is. Jillucia was once a planet of peace, but that was before the Gavanas Empire turned it into one of their military bases. Kido, one of the planet's leaders, sends eight Liabe seeds into space to find soldiers strong enough to liberate the planet from the steel grip - and faces - of the Gavanas. Princess Emeralida (Etsuko Shiomi, Sister Street Fighter) and Urocco follow them into space in a space galleon. We meet some space racers - Shiro (Hiroyuki Sanada, Shingen from The Wolverine) and Aaron - and a spoiled rich kid named Meia who are chasing one another through some asteroids. These guys mess up the Kessel Run and wreck, but then find some Laibe seeds in their ships. General Garuda (the name means phoenix and the role is played by Vic Morrow, who graced the screen in films like 1990: The Bronx Warriors and Humanoids from the Deep before dying while making Twilight Zone: The Movie) is a drinking man, embittered by the loss of Beba-1, his robot. He orders that a rocket send the body of his faithful companion into space, which gets him in trouble with his superiors, who see it as a waste. This leads him to retire and take up a bar stool on Milazeria, where he also finds a Liabe seed. In that very same bar, Jack puts the pressure on Shiro and Aaron to repay their debts, as he himself owes the gangster Big Sam (no relation to Jabba) plenty of dough. Oh - he also finds a seed. To get the cash, they agree to take Meia to a forbidden zone where she can watch fireflies. On the way, the Gavanas attack, destroying the space galleon and a police ship. All of our heroes battle, but when the seeds - and Garuda, who is sleeping off his drinking - reveal themselves, Emeralida explains that the seeds have chosen them to liberate her planet. Garuda responds by leaving in a huff, but Beba-2 promises to get him to change his mind. There's supposedly a Chris Isaak cameo as a gambler in the bar scenes, way before he became famous.

One reviewer said that this was so bad it was good. Wrong, IMHO. This is so bad, it is bad.They break lots of the laws of physics in space. 1. Why in the world would a space ship have a full set of sails? They would get knocked off immediately upon use.2. The exhaust from a huge ship just trails out randomly. a. It would not be on in space most of the time b. It would shoot out, at least for a while, in a straight line 3. The hotshots crash land on some minor rock and find air. No thought of putting on protective helmets. 4. The space cop has a siren. Didn't he know there is no sound transmission in space? 5. Without retro rockets, space ships stop on a dime and hover. 6. They move around free in space by flapping their arms like it was water.This silliness goes on and on. Dancing Robot, indeed!I was looking for a real space movie and found this abortion. I'm think this pass you should. Well, then, the costumes are nice shades of orange and pink. The only saving grace. After 29 minutes, there was no plot in evidence. Maybe one happens later. Right at 30 minutes, a plot point. The clouds are lifting. We can go out and play after all. Mother, Father, kindly disregard this letter.

Vic morrow appearing with Japanese professional wrestler Thunder Sugiyama should give you an idea about the craziness of this movie.Residents of planet Jirusia who are losing a war against the invading forces of Gavanas sends a princess, and 8 glowing balls to earth, to seek for help.If you've seen "The Legend of the eight samurai", you'll notice that eight glowing balls idea is strait out of that movie.Kinji Fukasaku always brings cheap, and crazy atmosphere to his movies. This one is no exception. I have no idea why he's considered a great director in his country. He's one of the worst director I know who's movie is guaranteed to look cheezy, and schizophrenic. His son is even worse director.The movie is like amalgamation of Star Wars and the Legend of Eight Samurai, done in worst possible way. Actors are pretty good, but their talents are wasted on this movie.I guess the international casts were put in place so the movie has appeal for audiences in both Japan and USA, but instead they succeeded in making a movie that has appeal maybe only to little children.

This is one of those jaw dropping bad films that is absolutely hilarious! I had no idea what was happening for a lot of this film(!) but the main story has a planet being taken over by the Gavanas which are nothing more than Clingons. And they send out 8 plastic walnuts to locate the chosen ones that will come and save them. Somehow a good actor like Vic Morrow ended up in this film and the rest are unknowns. At least in America they're unknowns. What can you say? Its a blatant Japanese rip-off of "Star Wars". Why is it that Japan can produce some wonderful and intricate gadgets but just have no clue how to produce decent special effects for films? Vic Morrow has a little robot as a sidekick that says lines like "Hot Dog, Master"! and "Only hurt when laugh" and when Morrow discovers a plastic walnut in his glass of booze he mutters, "I've been selected as a chosen one" which makes his robot react with "Hooray"! There is bright colors used throughout the film and the color red is very prominent. One of the flying ships in the film is just a big boat with sails! In another silly scene Morrow shows up to talk to the head of the Gavanas wearing a Napolean like outfit and challenges one the warriors to a duel! The scene is pointless. The special effects are so cheap and low budget that the monster movies like "Mothra" look like Spielberg made them. These are so terrible that every wire can be seen and every type of ship is a bad plastic model. The sets look like it was made by third grade stage producers. Cheap paint looking very colorful is everywhere. The costumes are everything from Samurai outfits to spandex space outfits and one leading Japanese character looks like a geisha. If Sid and Marty Krofft took acid and got drunk at the same time this is what they might have produced. Peggy Lee Brennan is cute and spunky and I remember her episode of "MASH" and she was fun to watch in this film but when she is flying the space ship and sticks her tongue out of the corner of her mouth to interpret that its serious business, you have to laugh! And Laugh! One of those rare "So bad its good" movies that absolutely requires multiple viewings. Plastic walnuts???