For centuries we have been wondering if we are the only ones in the universe and in the last century the idea of Martians and UFOs began to appeal to the imagination thanks to various films, the events in Roswell and the mysterious “Area 51” army base. And although enough footage has been through the years which shows unidentified flying objects, there was never enough evidence that conclusively determined that we are no longer alone. Until an interview took place with Bob Lazar in the 1980s. A researcher who worked for the US Army just outside Area 51 for a few months had an almost unbelievable cliam: He has seen several flying saucers and was hired to investigate how the engine of such a saucer, which could generate a gravitational field, worked. An extremely fascinating story, but does that also result in a good documentary?
Director Jeremy Corbell wants to investigate to what extent the story of Lazar is true and also talks to him himself. In addition, he contacts journalist George Knapp, who has been investigating Lazar since the original interview. With such a special story you would expect that a film about this also contains a certain gravitas, since with this subject matter you can run the risk of believing in all kinds of conspiracies. Unfortunately Corbell chooses not to be critical enough and mixes his research with whole pieces of surrealistic images of UFOs and aliens that contain many so-called profound texts that have been recorded by Mickey Rourke. That part detracts from the rest of the film. In addition, he only seems to talk to others who believe the story, so there are not enough critical moments which question Lazar’s story. Bob Lazar himself does come across as someone who never did this to become famous, but purely because he thought this information was important to everyone. If you want to know more about this subject, then it is better to listen to his interview he did with the Joe Rogan podcast than to watch this documentary.
Bob Lazar: Area 51 & Flying Saucers can be viewed through Netflix
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