galaxywest-16400 When you compare the "special effects" of Marooned versus 2001: A Space Odyssey -- well there is just no comparison, I think. They both won Academy Awards for special effects but only 2001 deserved it. And it deserved it BIGTIME. The special effects in Marooned, to me, were on a par with Plan Nine. Just my own opinion; laughable really. The movie NEEDED the special effects right to have any credibility at all and since it didn't, there was no credibility for me. The scenes that portrayed their long 5 month stay in the space lab were, too, laughable. There's a shot of James Franciscus with a silly grin on his face as he "rides" an exercise bike. Wow ... not. And the other 2 astronauts are shown nearly as ridiculously. Wow ... not, again. This is a film by "Ed Wood" in my opinion but obviously I'm in the minority on this one.

LeonLouisRicci Gregory Peck does what He can to Intensify this Supposedly Tense Story of Stranded Astronauts and the Geeks on the Ground Scurrying to Find the Fix and Bring Our Boys back Home Safely.Gene Hackman is Miscast to the Extreme and gives what Perhaps is the Worst Acting Performance of His Career. Richard Crenna and James Franciscus fare Better but not by much.Add to that, the Dull and Deadpan Director John Sturgess, one of the most Overrated Directors in History, makes another Slog of a Movie that Literally just Lies there Up on the Screen like a Still Life.The Movie Looks Good but is Realistic to the Point of Text-Book Type Boredom. It Drags and Substitutes Authenticity for Action and Inserts Repetitive Dialog as Tension that comes off as Irritating and not Suspenseful. Lines like..."Iron Man this is base do you read?" are recited over and over so Many Times it makes You want to Scream. Ah...But in Space no one can Hear You Scream.Not so in Theatres and at Home. So be Prepared for some Viewer Venting by the time this Overlong, Slumber Inducer is Finally Over.

utgard14 Marooned is the story of three astronauts (Richard Crenna, Gene Hackman, James Franciscus) who are stranded in space after a mechanical problem prevents their return. It's then up to NASA, in particular Gregory Peck and David Janssen, to get a rescue mission up within 42 hours before their air runs out. Marooned is not without problems but it's a good movie. Its faults are mainly that the pace is slow and the special effects in the space walk sequences are not the best. Other than that, I don't get the griping. Despite the pace I never felt bored. Most of the performances are good. Gregory Peck is a little too rigid but everybody else is fine.A butchered version of the movie (called Space Travelers) was featured on Mystery Science Theatre 3000. As I have seen far too often on IMDb, movies that were featured on that show have been deliberately rated low by some of the show's more unpleasant fans. So please take that into account when viewing the rating given here. I'm actually surprised it's as high as it is. It's too good of a movie to have been on that show but this isn't the first time I've seen a good movie with a terrible IMDb rating simply because it was featured on MST3K.

sheepdater As a frequent user of the IMDb, I rarely write reviews but I feel compelled to put my 2 cents in on this one. I'm a science fiction fan, so I have seen and appreciated some very obscure works, yet I never heard of this movie. There is a big reason why... it's not good, it's not a classic, and that's why it's forgotten. First, I have to ask... why do people who rate movies like this a perfect 10 think anybody reads their reviews? You are stating this is the most superb piece of filmmaking art you have ever seen. Seriously? All you have proved is that whatever you have to say is totally worthless. This movie is from 1969, so it's important to look at it in context. They threw together a few big stars & capitalized on the two biggest fads of the era: space & The Cold War. This could have been a classic if it were a 30 minute Twilight Zone episode. It's over 2 hour runtime borders on painful. It represents Hollywood appealing to the nation's lowest common denominator by combining a fad with star power and little else. Obviously they are masters of exploiting public stupidity since there are still people tasteless enough to keep raving about this flick 40+ years later.Considered historically, it provides indisputable proof that the moon landing was 100% real, because not even Hollywood could fake it. It's award winning special effects make you wonder how the actors were able to keep a straight face while doing their zero G "acrobatics". Winning the Oscar has to be the Academy's version of dark humor considering the winner in its category the previous year was 2001: A Space Odyssey. The only reason this movie should be mentioned in the same breath as Kubrick's masterpiece is to point out how it's the opposite of everything that makes 2001 a work of art. I respect the fact that many reviewers have a soft spot for this movie because they still look at it with child's eyes. I'm a little younger so my child nerd affection goes to movies like Space Camp. Yet even though I thought Space Camp was "wicked awesome" as a kid, I won't waste your time telling you it was a cinematic masterpiece. In fact Marooned can't even stand up to other Sci-fi disappointments with big potentials and poor execution, such as The Black Hole or Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Those two stinkers don't exactly set the bar very high either. Just like Marooned is no perfect 10, it's not the very worst movie in the world either. It's got big stars and its about the space race & that can go along way. Just not a 2 hours and 14 minutes long of a way. It's a bit sub par of average in the history of Hollywood. Watch it if you wish to relive a piece of your childhood or get a slice of what America was crazy about at the time. Just do NOT expect a grand story or an amazing cinematic experience & you won't be disappointed.