Jack Vasen I doubt anyone expects this to be in a league with Star Wars. Instead it is a nice romantic story that keeps you in suspense. Is Joe going to choose his heroic delusion, or a normal life with his true love? The movie did a good job of taking you back and forth over which it was.Although the story about a superhero struggling with thinking he was delusional has been done a few times, this is still a cute story. A lot of that is thanks to Jenn Murray who plays the absolutely perfect love interest for a dreamer. She is no Marylin Monroe, but she is as sweet as pure sugar and just as lovable. Whatever Maria did, she was always in love with Joe.Rafe Spall does a good job in Joe's totally naive acceptance of his dad's alien story and still manages to make fun of it just as the movie makes fun of itself and the space hero genre.Humor is spread throughout the movie. The producers turn their low budget into a strength by using ray guns that look like toys and using other props in the same way. It's all part of the satire. Not to say there aren't a couple of decent special effects.

malcolm-mcewen As one or two other reviewers note this is a very Anglo-Irish movie. So whilst there are parallels with K-Pax, Earthbound has three things K-pax doesn't have.. Comedy, Romance and Ray Guns! Joe, like so many today, is delusional.. he escapes the pointless boring reality of modern life by living in a fantasy; one in which he believes himself to be the hero son of the planet Zalaxon. Sent here to Earth whilst a battle between Good and Evil is raging on his home world. The delusion having been planted some 15 years earlier into Joe's 11 year old head by his dying father. Joe has then hung onto the fantasy and in doing so isolated himself from the World.When Maria comes into his life Joe realises a 'contingency' plan: he must 'mate' with a human. However when he then decides to share with Maria the truth about his identity she turns to a former boyfriend, the psychiatrist Richard Webb for Help.The delusion is then attacked and shattered forcing Joe to confront the truth (as perceived by others) and to accept that perhaps his father lied to him. The ray guns and memory wipes don't work and the hologram of his father that has been guiding him stops appearing..Joe falls onto the only thing left that is real in his life: his job but when his promotion turns out to be nothing more than two jobs for the wage of one he resigns (inferred).Then events begin to take over... the ray guns begin to work, the hologram it seems was jammed and Maria, who is now pregnant is Kidnapped by Bounty hunters who intend to use Joe's unborn child as a sacrifice.With the help of Maria's sister and a tracking device (sat nav) Joe locates the bounty hunters space ship and begins a rescue... one he is able to complete on entering the atmosphere of Zaxalon where the lower gravity gives him super human strength.After defeating Webb, Joe rescues Maria and the pair drop down to the planet in the escape pod.... to live happily ever after...If only my delusion was as good as Joe's reality.... then my life would be an 8 out of 10 rather than Earthbound which is a great Comedy, Romance Sci-Fi that doesn't need OTT James Cameron style special effects to make it enjoyable...

OJT This little Irish film is a film of which you never really quite are sure what to get out of, and that's a planned thing from the makers. It uses the ambiguous of using words to such an extent that it makes you think. Because it's a clever film! Is this film about loss, about dealing with fear of life of is it a story about a guy in denial. I could go on, because there's a lot more to get out of it.We meet Joe, and alien on Earth, living and working in Dublin. If he is a real alien, or just feels like it, I won't reveal, but we start off the story by getting to know why he is an alien, and that his father died when he was 11, presumably trying to make it easier for his son, telling an amazing story. But is the story true, or a life lie? He keeps away from women, because his father told him he needs more than 90 percent compatibility to start having a relationship to a human. Well, thing might be possible, won't it, even for nerds?Well, does that sound lame? It is, and starts off a funny ride. The film is charming, and interesting, as it gives a certain perspective on human life. It's almost like a family film, and it's a or a romantic comedy. Not a laugh out loud one, but a charmingly funny story which easily will charm you.The film is well acted, and I like the way it uses conversation and misunderstandings as a driving force. It's like you've heard, that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. It keeps you in the black, and is supposed to. Good film making which gives life to a great idea. The only thing I'm not too fond of is the over use of music. The spacey music is appropriate, but ruins the pleasure a bit for me.But all in all this is a great watch, and something completely different. Maybe something if a mind bender!? It can be seen as a romantic comedy, it can be seen as a sweet family entertainment, or a smart word bender about communication. It deserves a big audience. Enjoy!

colmjmooney 'Is it a sci-fi or Is it a ROM-com? I mean, what's it trying to be?'. This is the type of criticism I overheard laboured at this movie on the steps of the town hall in Galway on Friday afternoon by the industry types. You know the types I'm talking about. The guys and girls who haven't shaven or washed for about three days.One of the arguments I've heard is that this movie is a difficult sell because it does not fall neatly into one genre. 'Big Bang Theory' anyone? 'What's that?' these arty film types may ask. Only the highest rated comedy on American television. Oh and by the by, it's a sci-fi ROM-com! This movie proves what we all already knew, that Aliens can land outside of the United States. I'm not saying Joe is an alien. I'm merely saying that it's possible. And in fact it makes a lot more sense that Joe would land in Ireland. When you think about it the Americans surly built up massive strategic defense missile silos after the Roswell landings aimed at the milky way. So if you're an Alien traveling to earth, where do you land? Do you aim for the place with all the paranoid people and missiles or do you go for the place with the nice big fields, soft turf and bog, ideal for landing an intergalactic spaceship.The Hollywood reporter describes Joe's laser gun special effects as c grade sci-fi when compared to the effects in Prometheus. Again, that's the point. If Joe had better weapons he would have landed elsewhere. To an Irish guy Joes laser gun is the iphone 4s of laser guns.So I sat down in the town hall in Galway with the aforementioned arty types and a deep sadness came over me as the opening credits rolled. Something was missing. I had clearly walked into a film that was made for audiences and I had no popcorn! I managed to relax sit back and enjoy the show.Several large belly laughs later and after shedding a few tears the lights went up to a spontaneous standing ovation and round of applause. Of course the Arty types maintained their cool while the audience expressed their joy.This movie is funny and moving with a distinctly Irish quirkiness but what I think was so incredible was the sheer ambition of the project. The movie is about people who could be aliens in love who blow up Dublin. Now, isn't that a welcome change from the typical Irish film about some rural weird miserable farmer or guard with a left foot who works in garage and falls in love with a hoover on Grafton street.I think it's time we blew something up. Explosions are cool. This movie was made for audiences everywhere. You will laugh, you may cry, you may think some of it is cheese but you'll enjoy that too and you'll walk out of the movie theater with a smile on your face.So don't make the same mistake I did. Make sure you bring your popcorn and enjoy earthbound.