THE BLACK HOLE

* ½

STARRING: Maximillian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimeux, Ernest Borgine

1979, 97 Minutes, Directed by: Gary Nelson

Description: Robert Forster is the quietly authoritative captain of an exploration ship that stumbles across a seemingly derelict ship. Anthony Perkins, Yvette Mimieux, Ernest Borgnine, and Joseph Bottoms fill out his crew. Maximilian Schell plays a kind of wild man Captain Nemo with an even more ruthless temperament. Roddy McDowall voices the way-too-cute robot V.I.N.CENT, a merchandising gimmick that looks like a Fisher-Price toy.  — Amazon.com

Produced in the wake of the success of Star Wars, this space opera produced by Disney feature some standard special effects and cute robots and laser blaster fights al á chase scenes in the Death Star.

The plot, alas, is quite substandard and serves as little else but excuses for those fight scenes mentioned.

Mad scientists, baddy robots who can't seem to shoot straight, plenty of explosions, no Valkyries with cleavage, zipper Star Trek-type costumes and a black hole that turns red at one stage make for something less fun than the worst exploitation sci-fl flick thrown at us by the likes of Roger Corman. (Valkyries with cleavage? Check out Battle Beyond the Stars).