"Species": When a beautiful human-alien hybrid (Natasha Henstridge) escapes from observation, scientist Xavier Fitch (Ben Kingsley) dispatches a crew of experts to find her before she is able to fulfill her horrific purpos... more »e: to mate with unsuspecting men and produce offspring that could destroy mankind. As her deadly biological clock ticks rapidly, Fitch and his team are hurled into a desperate battle in which the fate of humanity itself hangs in the balance! "Species II": Having just returned from a mission to Mars, Commander Ross (Justin Lazard) isn't exactly himself. He's slowly becoming a terrifying alien entity with a one track mind - to procreate with human women! When countless women suffer gruesome deaths after bearing half-alien offspring, scientist Laura Baker (Marg Helgenberger) and hired assassin Press Lennox (Michael Madsen) use Eve (Henstridge), a more tempered alien clone, to find Ross and his virulent brood. But they underestimate Eve's maternal drive, and before long she escapes to mate with Ross in order to create a purer and unstoppable race that could spell doom for mankind. As time is running out, the ultimate battle of human brain over alien brawn takes place in a chilling climax that puts Darwin's theory to the ultimate test and only the strongest species will survive. "Species III": Mankind's number is up in this thrilling third installment of the Species franchise! Featuring eye-popping special effects, knuckle-whitening suspense and the dazzling performance of sexy newcomer Sunny Mabrey, Species III is the most jarring, action-packed chapter in the sci-fi series yet! In the ongoing fight for supremacy between mankind and human-alien hybrids, a fatal hybrid weakness has given humans the advantage. Until now. When Sara (Mabrey), the daughter of Eve (Natasha Henstridge), is born, she develops into the most genetically perfect alien form yet! Seeking to repopulate the earth with her kind, this dangerously beautiful femme fatale heeds an overwhelming drive to mate while a crack military team trails her in an attempt to end the war between the two species forever!« less
Species - If you have not seen this sci-fi flick, you should take time to watch this classic. Natasha Henstridge shines bright and Michael Madsen, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Forest Whitaker and others really bring it all together. A must watch!
Movie Reviews
What's in the box...
John Schenck | Columbus OH USA | 09/20/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I haven't actually gotten the box set yet so my star rating is
arbitrary, but in response to the question of which versions are
in the box, the answers are Species:SE and Species III:Unrated
according to MGM's website.
- [...]
And there's a 4th/bonus disc not mentioned (as of 09/20/05) in Amazon's summary:
Bonus Disc:
- The Origin featurette
- The Concept featurette
- The Discovery featurette
- Designing a Hybrid featurette
- HR Giger At Work featurette
- Species II: Eve of Destruction featurette
- Species III: Genesis featurette
- Species Alternate Ending"
Mad scientist, aliens & eye candy
James W. Durney | Tampa Bay area | 01/29/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"STOP! If the title of this review sounds bad, stop reading and find a serious movie. However, if science running amok, aliens and eye candy sound like fun read on. Species is a three movie set with a filler DVD of maybes. H.R. Giger did the design of the alien and the special effects while not great by today's standards are very good.
The first move, SPECIES is the best of the group. The cast is excellent actors, all being second leads or the starts buddy. Michael Madsen, a great tuff guy actor, is the government fixer. Forest Whitaker, one of America's best actors, is the empathy. Ben Kingsley, always an excellent performance, feeds Madsen some great one-liners. Natasha Henstridge provides the eye candy as the alien driven to reproduce. For the type of film, this is a five-star movie and great fun.
SPECIES II was released three years later, with Michael Madsen, Marg Helgenberger and Natasha Henstridge, repeating their roles from the first film. The producers continued to cast top quality actors in almost all the roles. The story is a continuation of the first movie with a couple of new twists. The dialog starts to slip and gore is used as a substitute. The special effects are above average, with the ending making the movie. This is a three or four-star film depending on how much you liked the first film.
SPECIES III was released nine years after the first film. While providing a continuation of and ending to the story, the film is a cheap knock off production. The producers stopped using quality character actors and went with inexpensive. The dialog drops badly and the story line has real problems with reality. However, they do answer questions raised in Species II and that makes it worth watching. This is a two or three-star movie depending on how much you like the first two.
Is the series worth it? Yes, if you like movies with mad scientist, aliens & eye candy. Overall, I rate this three and a half stars, which Amazon rounds up to four.
"
If you like gore, guts and cheesy sci-fi this trilogy is for
Sebastian Sanjurjo | Miami FL | 12/16/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This box set includes the first 3 species movies all in good quality and anamorphic widescreen. The trilogy also includes a bonus disc which goes behind the scenes of all 3 films. Now how good are they? Well if you are expecting a masterpiece like alien or a solid action flick like predator than this is not for you. But if you want to sit down and have a good time making fun of cheesy looking aliens who all they want to is mate than look no further this is trilogy is for you
SPECIES (1995)-R-WIDESCREEN (2:35:1)
The first one in the series is the best one; it begins with a laboratory experiment gone wrong. From that experiment we are given Sil a beautiful seductive female alien in the outside but a tentacle ugly alien in the inside. The movie is cheesy but can be taken seriously at some points.
MY PERSONAL RATING: 2 ½ OUT OF 5
SPECIES II (1998)-R- WIDESCREEN (1:85:1)
The first sequel falls down into oblivion; it has no real plot, things just randomly happen, and because the movie lacks real plot it all gets substituted with gore.
MY PERSONAL RATING: 1 ½ OUT OF 5
SPECIES III (2004)-UNRATED- WIDESCREEN (1:77:1)
The second sequel does some improvement over the second but don't expect much. it continues where the first one left of, with the body of eve being loaded in to the military truck for further investigation. It still bad and corny and at times suffers from bad lighting.
MY PERSONAL RATING: 1 ½ OUT OF 5
OVERALL BOX SET RATING: 3 OUT OF 5
"
Good, but not Great, Sci-Fi Movie Trilogy
Charles J. Rector | Woodstock, IL United States | 04/05/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"If crazed scientists and unrealistic plot lines combined with great special effects are your bag, then the Species Trilogy is worth your while. H.R. Giger designed the alien and the special effects are done realistically. Very little CGI stuff here so the Species flicks look like real movies, not glorified cartoons.
The first movie, Species is a pretty decent film. The cast is somewhat of a mixed bag. Hack actor Michael Madsen is cast as the government fixer. Forest Whitaker, an up and coming actor provides a sympathetic figure. The always great Ben Kingsley provides some great one-liners to lighten things up a bit. Natasha Henstridge gives the best performance of her career as a genetically engineered "human" beauty. This is a fun flick.
Species II is a continuation of the story with a somewhat higher level of acting and scientifically implausible script. The special effects even better than in the first. This is a rare sequel that is even better than the original.
Species III is the worst of the trilogy. It provides a poor finish to the trilogy's story and the movie as a whole is awful. The producers opted for cheap actors and even worse special effects. The script takes what was already a scientifically implausible scenario and brings it past the point where the suspension of disbelief ends.
As a whole, this is a moderately worthwhile trilogy in that it does offer some mindless escapism and unintentional laughs. Its best to rent out one of the Species flicks first before deciding on whether or not to buy the trilogy as a whole."