lost-in-limbo Low-grade, but slightly riveting slow-going conspiracy-laced government cover-up thriller that sees an UFO colliding with an American satellite being launched in space and then crash-landing in the Arizona desert. To hide the truth because of an election campaign, the astronauts are blamed for the incident which saw one of their colleagues killed. So the two men go about trying to find out the truth which the government officials would do anything to keep it a secret, while studying what they have just found.The clunky story goes about three separate parts; that of the astronauts trying to clear their names (this is when the action kicks into gear --- "Come on we got to get that rock."), the political big-heads villainously scheming (doing things behind closed doors) and then you got the NASA scientists trying to learn from their alien discovery. While ambitious in context, it just seems too simple and cautious in its presentation (a telemovie of the week feel) but it does stick to its strengths. The whole novelty of the discovery of the flying saucer and its occupants is interesting (theories are chucked around), if at times a little disappointing. A good cast is assembled. Gary Collins and James Hampton are sturdy as the two astronauts. Darrin McGavin chips in with a bright performance as the NASA official in charge of the project in investigating their new spacecraft toy and Robert Vaughn in a weasel performance heads the dirty tactics.

ozthegreatat42330 This is not a great film, but a watchable one. When a satellite launched from a space shuttle collides with a UFO, exploding and killing an astronaut, his fellow astronauts are given the blame, by a White House staffer (Robert Vaughn) trying to get his president re-elected while covering up the discovery of a flying spacecraft (not a "saucer" as it is not saucer shaped. Vaughn is silkily evil as usual, but the plot starts to unravel as the two astronauts begin to try and understand why they are being framed. The film quality is grainy, as was not unusual in films of the seventies and early eighties, and some plot points are a bit absurd, but if you like cover up plots this one works right along with the similar "Capricorn One." Makes you wonder what else they might be hiding.

loza-1 Consider some of the flying saucer films we have seen over the years. The occupants speak perfect English, often with American accents to boot.In this film we never get to see the aliens; they have a kind of Satanic presence. Instead we have a control panel that displays photographs of military and civilian installations, weird hieroglyphics, and a synthesised voice that speaks an unknown language. Now that is much better than a couple of humanoids with detectable Boston accents who carry away chloroformed females to father the next generation when they get them home.Robert Vaughn sheds his affable Man from UNCLE image and makes a vicious government agent.This is the only UFO film that I have ever taken seriously.

mstomaso Yes, this film really was made!Get out your house-sized grain of salt! Basically, a satellite emplacement goes awry because the satellite collides with an alien spaceship running on autopilot and bound for an automated landing on earth. A pair of shuttle pilots witness the event and, predictably, a government cover-up ensues which attempts to cast blame on the astronauts themselves. The alien ship lands and is dragged off for investigation in the infamous Hanger 18. NASA, the military and the US government then all have to figure out what to do about it.While the plot is admittedly silly, the dialog sometimes ridiculous, and the characters sort of one-dimensional, the screenwriters did a decent job of pacing and developing and telling the story. There are only a few entirely absurd parts. For example - while on the run, Gary Collins seems, under any circumstances, to be able to find a car with keys in the ignition and an owner who doesn't really care if he steals it. And almost every single scene in the film has two people in it.While not exactly gripping or engaging, this is an entertaining little film to be viewed after midnight on any sleepless weeknight. Hanger 18 is slightly more credible than most X-Files episodes and slightly less well-scripted and shot. Performances are mostly fairly good, but Darren McGavin painfully over-acts most of his scenes and the number of hypertensive yelling and fist pounding scenes by the entire cast really detracts from the overall experience in a big way. Perhaps the director had a troubled childhood or just kept a too-large pot of coffee available on the set at all times. We'll probably never know. But I know that I can rate this one "somewhat more entertaining than most X-Files episodes" which, unfortunately, is more of a comment on the X-Files than this movie.