38
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 58Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanSet on Halloween, this intentionally cheesy sci-fi parody doesn’t offer much variety among its human characters, but its animatronic aliens — who look like sourpuss versions of Spielberg’s E.T. — are amusingly obnoxious.
- 50Time OutTime OutDespite the neat comic inversion of its central premise (this time it's the spacemen who are taken in by Welles' classic hoax), the film soon comes a cropper as the chaotic script descends into a mêlée of limp and disjointed knockabout gags.
- While there is nothing Earth-shattering about director Patrick Read Johnson's first film, it is often quite entertaining. SPACED INVADERS makes fun of just about every outer space film ever made, and throws in some Three Stooges-like mayhem for good measure.
- 50Chicago TribuneJohanna SteinmetzChicago TribuneJohanna SteinmetzWith its old-timey special effects, multiple plots and silly humor, it scampers through its 102 minutes untethered to the demands of strict logic, continuity or character development. This film is just out to have a good time. Often, it succeeds. [27 Apr 1990, p.D]
- 40The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbySpaced Invaders should have been funnier than it is. It rambles and has too many poorly defined characters. Also, because most of it takes place at night, it's not easy to tell what is going on sometimes, which will confuse the audience for which it is intended.
- 38Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertMaybe I've lost touch with silly, brainless entertainments like this. Let's hope so: One of the purposes of growing up and getting an education is to learn why movies like Spaced Invaders are a waste of time. And yet, a small, far-away voice inside of me says there once was a time when I would have liked this movie, when I was young and open to wonderments.
- 37Washington PostRichard HarringtonWashington PostRichard HarringtonSpaced Invaders is a slight, obvious sci-fi parody that would like to be in the same league as Spaceballs, but doesn't even deserve the comparison.
- 30Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasA tedious, frenetic and sour business in which humans and Martians alike are all pretty stupid, except for the local sheriff’s pretty, peace-loving daughter (Ariana Richards). Even the special effects aren’t anything special.
- 25Miami HeraldJuan Carlos CotoMiami HeraldJuan Carlos CotoThe devices in the script are more obvious than the special effects. [27 Apr 1990, p.G5]