#29 Turks in Space AKA Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam'ın Oğlu (The Son of the Man Who Saved the World) (2006) (Colin)

Cast: Mehmet Ali Erbil, Cuneyt Arkin, Haldun Boysan, Berda Ceyhan, Veysel Diker

Director: Kartal Tibet

Genre: Sci-Fi, Comedy

The next movie on our list sees us travelling back to Turkey, (well actually we’re not travelling anywhere, we’re still stuck in our crappy top secret bad movie liar, just off J7 on the M11;  Opposite Aldi.).  But it does see us watching another movie with Mehmet Ali Erbit, who our regular reader will know appeared in our #55 movie, Keloglan vs The Black Prince, (see review here).

Now it’s fair to say I didn’t really like Keloglan.  It was supposed to be a comedy but I don’t recall laughing once.  The hero, Keloglan, was so unlikeable thanks to the arrogant portrayal by Mehmet, that I really couldn’t give a tinker’s cuss if he saved the day or met his maker being garrotted with rusty piano wire.  But I did wonder whether I just ‘didn’t get it’.  Remember, this is a Turkish movie, with subtitles and so maybe culturally I didn’t understand or I was missing something.

And so I sort of knew what to expect with the next movie on our list, Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam'ın Oğlu (The Son of the Man Who Saved the World) (2006), (AKA Turks in Space).  Again this is a comedy, (so I expect it to be unfunny), again it stars Mehmet Erbit, (so I expect him to play a ‘lovable’ character but will come across as an arrogant tosspot) and again it’s subtitled, (so I expect to not fully understand everything).

So were my expectations correct?  It was time to find out…..

Dunyayi Kurtaran Adam (Mehmet Ali Erbil) is captain of the spaceship something or other.  He leads a motley crew of forgettable characters who include a dumb blonde, a robot, erm, someone else and erm, that other person.  With the dark hair.  Thingy.

Anyhoo, it turns out that the captain is the son of the man who saved the world in the first movie, (Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam (The Man Who Saved the World) (1982)) and so it transpires this is a sequel.  This was the only shock to me for the entire movie and the only thing that is vaguely interesting.  The reason for this is that the original movie, better known as ‘Turkish Star Wars’, blatantly rips scenes and music for the original Star Wars movie and is something of a cult classic.  However, I’ll go into more detail in a later blog, as I’m pleased to say that this movie is #18(a) on our list!

The captain is also good at losing members of his crew, (and the audience), one in particular, Gokmen, (Burak Hakki), is causing him all kinds of grief and anguish.  Gokmen floated off into space several years ago after a spacewalk in which his support line was chopped off.  This may seem bad for Gokmen, but at least he now has more atmosphere that the entire movie.

Dunyayi Kurtaran Adam is obsessed with finding Gokmen and so is leading his crew on a mission to track him down.  Space pirate Zaldabar, (Mehmet Ali Erbil, that’s right, we have 2 Mehmets for the price of 1!), decides to piss on his chips and kidnap one of the female crew.

Dunyayi Kurtaran Adam is confused, why does Zaldabar look exactly like him?  What does he want with the female crew member, (seriously can’t remember her name, or which one of the crew was taken)?  And where the devil is Gokmen?  Will Dunyayi Kurtaran Adam find the answers to these questions?  If he does, can he please tell me as I have absolutely no idea what is going on?

If this seems like a short synopsis, I apologise, but in truth I struggled to pad it out to the 300 or so words above.  Nothing happens in this movie and again I find myself watching a comedy which contains nothing funny whatsoever.

Am I missing the gags because of the cultural difference, like I may have done with Keloglan?  I don’t know, I really don’t think I am because several reviews from Turkish viewers on IMDb seem to back up my theory that this really is a crap and unfunny movie.

Mehmet Ali Erbil seems to have made a lot of comedy movies, so someone, somewhere must like him.  However, because you make a lot of comedy movies, it doesn’t necessarily mean you are any good or funny.  Ask Adam Sandler.

The main problem seems to stem around the fact that there is a character which looks a lot like another character.  This plot has been done to death and as such it is just not funny.  Even comedy gold, such as Only Fools and Horses, seriously struggled when they used this idea.  Miami Twice, to me, is still the only laughter free episode of Only Fools and this is largely thanks to the tired ‘Prince and The Pauper’, storyline.

There’s really nothing more I can say about this movie.  Both of Erbil’s characters are unfunny, lifeless and his hero character comes across as an arrogant so and so once again.  The special effects are awful, the sound abysmal and the plot non-existent.

I like to do around 1,000 words per blog, as I think this is a nice amount to set up the blog, describe the movie and share my feelings about what I thought of the film.  But with nearly 200 words remaining, I’m going to put my hands up, I’m struggling.  In fact I think I have more to say about my new iron, than I do this movie.

Which gives me an idea…..

At £54.99, the Morphy Richards 301021 Comfigrip Steam Iron is not cheap, but with a large 350ml water tank and a very impressive 55g/min steam output, you will understand where the extra few quid has gone.

The overall build quality is very impressive and it feels like a high-end iron rather than the mid-budget model that it is.

The ceramic soleplate glides over clothing with ease and makes ironing quick and hassle free.  The variable steam function allows you to have full control and from silk to cotton, it gives a first class experience every time.

If I had 1 criticism, when the water tank is full it can become quite heavy.  However, this is a minor point and pound for pound, I think you would be hard pushed to find another iron in this price range which delivers such an exciting ironing experience.

Am I going over the top?  Well let’s just say it is more exciting that the movie, Turks in Space, aka Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam'ın Oğlu (The Son of the Man Who Saved the World) (2006).  It also has the added benefit that even if you turn the steam function up to the highest setting and then repeatedly smash yourself in the face with it, the Morphy Richards 301021 Comfigrip Steam Iron is still funnier and less painful than watching this movie.