Comparisons are inevitable. Sixteen years after the exquisite "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", Donald Sutherland is involved up to his neck again with intellectually superior but nefarious aliens that invade planet earth and take over its inhabitants. And you can take the "up to his neck" comment quite literally, as the evil aliens are stingray-shaped parasites that exist for 60% out of brain-tissue and attach themselves to their human hosts via a probe in the back of their necks. The extraterrestrial stingrays make an inconspicuous entry, as they land in rural Iowa and colonialize a quite community first, but - as usual - their ultimate mission is world domination!
"The Puppet Masters", based on a novel by Robert A. Heinlein and adapted into a screenplay by more than four (!) writers, has a very solid and compelling first half hour, but turns into a disappointingly tame and routine Sci-Fi thriller after that. Once the first ET specimen has been dissected, it's one cliché after another, including the guessing game of who may or may not be contaminated, the sending in of military cannon fodder, the search for the aliens' sole weakness, the secret agents' romance, and the final battle with the ultimate alien-mastermind. There are many overlong and tedious parts during the second half, which is really a no-go for a film like this. Sutherland obviously realizes the film is not as good as "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" but remains as professional as ever, and same goes for several great actors in supportive roles that are too small for their talent (Yaphet Kotto, Will Patton, Andrew Robinson, ...)
