V: The Final Battle (1984)

In “V: The Miniseries” we see a band of unlikely brothers forge together to stop an indestructible group of aliens determined to rid the world of water and subsequently transform the human race into a combo meal at McDonald’s. The aliens eat fuzzy creatures, they like to copulate with humans, and their voices cannot be trusted, yet this group of rebels continues forward. Half homage to past science fiction films, and half an allegory of the events surrounding WWII, “V: The Miniseries” wasn’t perfect, but it provided hours of nostalgic entertainment. Now, with “V: The Final Battle”, the gloves are thrown off, the symbolic references are destroyed, and the game is transformed into merely a battle between human and alien. It is about resistance, standing up for beliefs, and plenty of fictitious science all rolled into three hours. Our band of outsiders is down, but not finished. They deliver several swift blows to the alien objective and finally one “final battle” that leaves doors unopened and plot holes uncovered. “V: The Final Battle” was a swift ending, but where it built onto action, it lacked that panache that the original episodes did. “The Final Battle” assumed that characters were already developed, and instead of taking a humanistic direction, director Richard Heffron placed his bets on the special effects. This was a completely different ending to a decently sharp beginning.

Heffron isn’t Kenneth Johnson, and it is obvious that this is a second part to an idea, not a continuation. Not only have the overall themes changed, but the influx of special effects has lead us down the path of horrid dialogue, randomly placed action scenes (i.e. the fistfight over the powder), and the lack of developed storylines. Johnson may have taken longer to get to the point, but at least there was a point. Heffron went in a completely, some may say bold, direction – but it didn’t work. Investing over five hours, one could easily demand a conclusion, but none could be found here. The introduction of Elizabeth (the child of an alien and human) was exciting, but nothing happened. The idea of quick growth was introduced, but then easily forgotten – same as Mike’s son being changed as a spy. Again, another strong and vexing idea that was mentioned, and then forgotten. It was these smaller nuances that seemed to be clearer in “The Final Battle” than in the original.

In addition to the lackluster plot, the acting seemed to be progressively getting worse. Our original characters were not the same as in this final set – the excitement seemed to have dissipated and with too many small story arch’s never being fully developed, it was no wonder our characters seemed to be lacking that pioneering gumption. Marc Singer’s Mike was more a meathead than a leader, the annoying child who gave birth to the spawn seemed more annoying than helpful – and Ham seemed to be unreasonably angrier. This wasn’t the same set we stopped with on the miniseries. The resistance was going to win; it was inevitable, so why did it have to be so mismatched to get there.

What was kept? What worked? It was somewhat like that feeling of seeing “Star Wars” for the first time. When the villains finally get it, one cannot help but feel that moment of excitement swell in the throat, but there needed to be more. The alien baby is worth the price of the DVD alone, a cross between originality and a “Ghoulie”, it provided at least an hour of laughter. The fist fight between Ham and Mike seemed reminiscent of the film “They Live”, so it received some points for that, but overall it just felt cheap. The sets were bigger, the acting was weaker, and the money was tighter. While you should watch this after “The Miniseries”, don’t expect the same quality.

Found in my "Videohound 2008" book, this concludes the V's in this book. I am off to work on the Ys - we shall see how that goes. "V: The Final Battle" alas, will get a pink mark in my book. I didn't like this final chapter, but the universe that Johnson created was deeper than that. I could not watch this again, but wouldn't have any problem suggesting it to friends or family. Watched once - that is enough for me.