I encountered Poul Anderson's novel during my high school years in the nineteen sixties—a time before computers, the Internet, or much of anything we take for granted now. The notion that a civilization far beyond our own technologically could be brought under control, let alone defeated by people using swords, bows and arrows, really captured my attention. Around then, the Vietnam War was escalating from a limited presence to full-scale ground combat, which felt very relevant at the time. I watched this film on DVD and purchased it, curious to see how the story translated to the screen. The initial scenes were acceptable, but then the spaceship touched down at a gate...and remained there. It seemed like the filmmakers either exhausted their budget or ran out of creative ideas—or possibly both. Humor is challenging, certainly, but this repetitive sequence became tiresome very quickly. Ultimately, the Knights in Shining Armor didn’t overcome the technologically superior Alien civilization; instead, they went back to Earth, no more enlightened and still embodying that familiar “nation of shopkeepers” perception. This movie, which feels akin to something from Ed Wood, desperately needs a lively, adventurous reimagining, though "Star Wars" has already covered similar ground. My final assessment is 2 out of 5, based on its awkward Anime inspiration.

Source on TMDB