Let's be realistic.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

I must have watched V: The Final Battle so many times, but I only caught onto it after friends mentioned the mouse eating scene in V the original mini-series. One friend openly wondered why aliens always aimed their mouth upwards when swallowing a mouse, rat or hamster but I guess whatever method it would do much to solve the New York City rat problem, and would no doubt be an election winner for any mayoral candidate.One of my favorite characters was Ham Tyler played by one of my favorite actors, Michael "Total Recall" Ironside. He put a lot of spine into the Resistance and played an instrumental role in the downfall of the aliens. Ham was the Man and it was good to see him continue in V: The Series.Also when I saw Robert Englund's name in the credits, I wondered if that was the same Robert Englund in Nightmare on Elm Street, released the same year???!!! It was!!! Willy was so different to Freddie big time, but that's a testament to Robert's incredible acting skills. I remember seeing an interview with Robert when he said that at an autograph session, many eager V fans turned up to meet him, and then a bunch of leather clad bike club type folks turned up and asked him to autograph their gear...they were Nightmare on Elm Street fans!!!

Catholic influences are sprinkled throughout this science fiction adventure, taking shortcuts to material and moral dilemmas. Miracles replace human endeavors, while the species-centric nature of the writing glosses over genocidal decisions. The fifth column is reduced to helping in a lopsided partnership. Is that the best writers can do? I surely hope that the new series on ABC will do more justice to these not-insignificant problems, just as the early seasons of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica (another show ruined by unnecessary religious plot devices) did. Is religious fanaticism not the cause of untold crusades? What would it say about humanity if we must rely on religion to fight the dark forces?

I don't think people that didn't see this when it came out will get into this, because it really is an 80's flick, but that being said, I loved this as a kid. All the actors give great performances. The 3 best being Marc Singer, Jane badler, and Michael Ironside is so great I'm not sure he even acted the character! This film is a lot better than the first one for the simple reason, MORE ACTION! There are 4 action parts that they did a great job on, with the final battle being the best. The only real bitch I have with this is not enough starfighter action. The TV series got even weirder, the biggest complaint I have with the TV show was that they killed off Martin right away, the coolest visitor. I really thought that instead of doing the TV series, they should have made one more film and took us to the visitors planet for some revenge! That would have been an out of this world tale, but none the less A great 80's sci-fi DVD!

The GREATEST mini-series of all time was, of course, the original V. I hadn't seen either in years, until they both started making the rounds on MPLEX. And if possible, both got BETTER with age. And I'll tell you what, Faye Grant is STILL quite the hottie. And with an unblemished record of heterosexuality, I can say without hesitation that Marc Singer might the coolest guy of the 80s! He is basically a mix of Luke Skywalker and Kevin Bacon. You certainly can't go wrong there. This is definitely something that every child of the '80s MUST have in his video library. Without question.