'Critters 4' is a belated dud from this franchise. I do appreciate that the filmmakers attempted something different, but for me they didn't pull it off. Firstly, it's too human-centric. The critters don't feature enough, in fact the first quarter of the 90 minutes goes without them - that's a problem. The human side of the story isn't all that interesting, either. It's your fairly standard space mission crew set-up, some crew are good and some are not... you know where it's generally all heading. The space effects also aren't all that convincing, the critters remain solid though. The cast is the most noteworthy thing about this 1992 production. Angela Bassett unexpectedly appears in one of her early roles, she and Brad Dourif are the only two onscreen that I held interest for... and that's probably only due to their other work. Both are decent though. Quite something that this franchise can count young Leonardo DiCaprio and Angela Bassett as alumni. Who'd have thunk it? Away from them, Don Keith Opper and Terrence Mann feature in these movies yet again. Mann is better than Opper this time out. I'm sure 2019's 'Critters Attack!' was a return to form...

Why? Why drive this into the ground? This franchise has pretty much followed the Leprechaun formula, with it now being in space. Next one, the Crites will probably wind up in the Hood. It's just boring and makes no sense. The characters are dull and two-dimensional. Drastic character changes from previous installments make no sense. Even the Crites don't feel that threatening, despite the first death being a bit more gruesome than any of the previous ones in the entire series. Actually, I think that's part of the problem with this series' trajectory. In the first movie, the Crites are the main bad guy and the main problem to deal with. After that, it almost feels like they're there to set things off, but they aren't the main problem the characters have to deal with any more. There are other frequently more pressing problems and threats that have to be dealt with, and it seriously has taken away from their screen presence. If you're seeing this to resolve the cliffhanger from the third movie, you're honestly probably better off simply using your own imagination as to how would play out. Don't waste your time, because that's exactly what it will feel like you've been doing.

It's a cheap Alien ripoff, but it's a good setting for a Critters movie to go to space. The cast is pretty good and do a decent of pulling some fun out of a cheap, churned-out sequel. The space and near-future setting are a good way of also helping them get away with some magic.