If you were a kid in the seventies and loved Star Wars and the cheesy derivative clones it inspired, from 'Jason of Star Command' to 'Galactica', then this is for you. Of the bigger Star Wars-inspired space fantasies of the era, 'Shape of Things to Come' may have the most most in common with 1979-1981's 'Buck Rogers in the 25th Century' movie and TV series. Though Buck's budget had the advantage, the overall look is quite similar. The cheesy "futuristic" art design, materials and props that were available and may have looked 'far-out' to the 1980 eye are all in place. The lead actress has Erin Gray's 'Wilma Deering' hairdo, and, hey, there's Jack Palance, who played an evil villain in a Buck Rogers 2-parter, playing, well, a evil villain, in a, well, very similar costume. Having Barry Morse from the popular 70's British show 'Space:1999' also thrown in makes for good measure. There's the oh-so-imitated renegade robot, with his domed head and oddly 'Robby the Robot'-esquire body. He's the comic relief. Noting a theme? It's the era. Appreciation of this film is probably purely generational, because the movie is BAD. But it has immense charm. Watching this for the first time in 2009, at age 41, I felt as if I were watching a perfect spoof of the genre I am so nostalgic for.Brooke Ellis

With the names Jack Palance and Carol Lynley above the title, you would think that The Shape of Things to Come (purportedly from the book by HG Wells, although I see little similarity) would be a sci-fi adventure to die for.Well, it is...after watching this for half an hour you realise that yes, you have actually died and gone to hell. The special effects are below average for their time and the cast performs VERY badly. Palance has some interesting moments playing one of his typical evil characters but on the whole is fairly bland. As for Carol Lynley, who I usually adore, Niki is by far her worst performance, mainly due to her monosyllabic delivery.However there are some laugh-out loud moments (unintentional), mainly caused by the cast's feigned fear of the "robots" which are obviously stunt men in cardboard looking costumes who look about as fearsome as a newborn.Don't waste your time with this tripe, watch Star Wars instead.

This should be in the top 100 worst movies of all time. Like many cult classics it improves with age as its unintentional hilarity increases with time. I saw Shape of Things to Come on opening night without the benefit of any advance reviews. At the time I felt that my hard earned part-time summer job savings had never been so wasted. However, now I split a gut in Plan 9 fashion with the added benefit of fast forward. Only if bad SciFi amuses you should you give this a try. The special effects are stunningly bad at times. Palance and Lynley mail in their performances (and for Lynley, think worse than Poseidon Adventure - yikes!). I don't know if this was ever on Mystery Science Theater 3000; but that would be the perfect venue for viewing this space junk.

This film was released in Swiss theatres in 1979. It is probably the worst film I have ever seen in a movie theatre. Terrible story, bad acting, even worse special effects. I have voted on 1718 films in the IMDb and I have given TSoTtC a 2 out of 10 (there are worse films that have been released to video only, like OCTAMAN for example for which I voted with a straight 1 out of 10)