Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Watergate + "2001" + "Close Encounters" = HANGAR 18, July 16, 2001
The Utah-based Schick Sunn Pictures corporation, known for churning out highly speculative documentaries, turns to science fiction for this interesting conspiracy sci-fi drama. The question: What would the U.S. government do if it suddenly had an alien spacecraft in its possession?Two shuttle astronauts (Gary Collins, James Hampton) are in the process of launching a military satellite from the shuttle, when they encounter a UFO in orbit. When the satellite is launched, it hits the UFO with explosive results, killing a third man who was inside the shuttle's cargo bay watching the satellite's progress. The UFO, however, makes a controlled landing in the Arizona desert. When they get back on the ground, Collins and Hampton soon find themselves the target of charges that the incident in orbit was their fault, and are forced to clear their names by finding the right evidence, all the while being tracked by government agents. Meanwhile, a team of scientists, led by Darren McGavin, are ensconsed at Hangar 18, located on the grounds of an Air Force base in Texas, trying to learn everything possible about the UFO and its occupants...whose appearances bear an all-too-uncanny resemblance to humans. Thought I dock this film one star because its special effects aren't exactly up to snuff (a lowered budget is the reason), HANGAR 18 is otherwise a very good film. In basic terms, it combines a Watergate-style political scenario with elements from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, and Steven Spielberg's CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. This is not to say that HANGAR 18 is a masterpiece like those two films are. But the combination of such elements manages to work in a fairly narrow framework. The cast is also quite good, with McGavin giving one of his most memorable and stimulating performances. Robert Vaughn is equally good as the President's devious chief-of-staff, who concots the cover-up to get his boss re-elected. To sum it up, HANGAR 18 is a somewhat imperfect movie, but it still holds up well despite its flaws.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pre-X Files, but only better and much more exciting!!, January 3, 2001
I remember when this classic movie came out in 1980. I really enjoyed seeing the previews and what the film was all about. Surprisingly, my parents took me to see the film, and all of us really enjoyed this science fiction/conspiracy thriller classic. All of us even jumped when that alien environment suit popped out of the UFO's closet by accident. Nevertheless, the movie was in a way like an earlier version of The X-Files. Only just as better and more exciting than the series that would come some 13 years later.Hanger 18 tells the story of how a satellite, launched by a NASA space shuttle/orbiter, collides with an Unidentified Flying Object, causing the death of an American astronaut in the process. When the UFO crashes on Earth, the U.S. Air Force and NASA recover it, and take it to a manned lunar receiving station in Texas. There, they uncover some hidden secrets that soon take the scientists by surprise. And makes the Government nervous. At the same time, two of the shuttle astronauts who witnessed the incident in space, are "blamed" for the other astronaut's death, and try to clear up the situation, by hunting for the UFO. The government tries to prevent the two from locating the UFO, but to little or no avail. That situation leads to something even more drastic made by the CIA and The Department Of Defense. Like the classic film Capricorn One, Hanger 18 does a remarkable job of playing on the government conspiracy angle, and at the same time, deals with the ancient astronaut theory. The subplot involving the two astronauts trying to clear their names is also good, as is the storyline about the scientists trying to unlock whatever secrets are in the flying saucer. And it also had a wonderful cats of veterans. Darren McGavin, Gary Collins, James Hampton, Pamela Bellwood, Robert Vaughn, William Schallert, Joseph Campenella, and Bill Zuckert among others. Though one wishes that James Brolin, Roy Thinnes, or Tom Berenger had been in the role played by Collins. Collins did a good job, however, if I had been the casting director, I would have picked one of those three. Overall, a very good and entertaining film. One of the best in the hall of science fiction. If you enjoy watching the X-Files and other films about flying saucers, then you will definately enjoy this film.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Flawed but fun, September 10, 2005
There's not much I can say about the overall plot of this movie that hasn't already been said by other helpful reviewers - shuttle astronauts accidentally collide a launched satellite with a UFO, the UFO and its occupants land in the desert, are recovered and hidden, and the death of a fellow astronaut during the collision is blamed on the shuttle crew, who must clear their names and uncover the truth.
I do have to agree that the casting seems just a bit off in some cases - Gary Collins as an astronaut? Some casting decisions were spot-on, though, such as Robert Vaughn, who seems to have been born to play a politician/bad guy in one production after another. [Fans of Vaughn and semi-cheesy early 80's sci-fi should also check out his role as the mercenary assassin Gelt in "Battle Beyond The Stars."]
The effects in this film aren't the greatest, but they're generally secondary to the story anyway. They probably could have done without the "let's-blow-up-a-tanker-truck" chase scene, though, which doesn't seem to do much more than strain the credibility of the plot. Gary Collins is an astronaut AND an expert big-rig driver?
I also have some minor complaints about the design of the UFO - it looks like a flying industrial refrigeration unit and would have been about as aerodynamic as a brick wall - but that was just the production designer and the props department at work, and who can really say what a real alien spacecraft should look like anyway? Not me, but personally, I would have gone for a more classic "UFO" look. Instead of little green men, though, we have tall pale men who look surpringly human, and for good reason. Watch the movie and find out why.
One of the aspects of this movie that fascinates me the most is the aliens' language. Although we only hear it being synthesized by a computer aboard the UFO [and sounding very much like a Cylon from the original "Battlestar Galactica" series], it's still interesting, and the more you hear it, perhaps not all that alien after all.
Overall... An entertaining and thought-provoking film marred a bit by some weak casting and a few rather unlikely plot twists. Fans of "The X-Files" should indeed like this film, and it may even have served as a bit of an inspiration for that series. Just remember that it's an old film and the art of special effects has advanced quite a bit in the past 25 years. Even its contemporaries such as "Star Wars" and "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" had better effects, but then they were also made on much larger budgets.
I have an old VHS copy at the moment; I can't comment on the DVD release yet.
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