User Reviews

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.

HANGAR 18 is a film that ties together the science fiction film with a government conspiracy thriller but the end result is middling at best. It doesn't help that it's saddled with dull characters, particularly the heroes who are very realistic and 'ordinary' for a couple of astronauts, but unfortunately that means they simply aren't very interesting or charismatic. The opening scenes copying STAR WARS so blatantly are problematic too. The government angle is better, with Robert Vaughn and Darren McGavin on form in support, but the handling of the flying saucer itself is rather dry and lacking in interest - it's handled in a more academic way. There are some requisite chases and explosions towards the end which are handled in a fun way, but this is a film that can be considered average at best.

Someone once observed that any piece of art is inherently the product of the time that it was created in. Not that I am going so far as to call the 1980 science fiction/conspiracy thriller Hangar 18 art, the very fact that it was a selection for spoofing by Mystery Science Theater 3000 should speak to the fact that it isn't. Yet between its echoes of Watergate, the still brand new NASA space shuttle, echoes of Erich Van Daniken's Chariots Of The Gods and the then recent revelation of the so-called Roswell Incident it is without a doubt very much a product of its time.

That is especially true of its cast believe it or not as many of the cast members are recognizable from their roles during the 1970s and 1980s. Gary Collins and James Hampton play the two NASA shuttle astronauts who, after themselves set up as a cover-up for a UFO incident, go on the run to try and unravel the cover-up. The movie very much follows them and that is not necessarily a good thing as neither of them seem to have a whole lot of range and are anything but convincing in their roles. Much more successful are Darren McGavin (Kolchak) as a NASA official who is charge of investigating the incident and Robert Vaughn (The Man From UNCLE, Superman III) as the President's chief of staff who is charge of the cover-up. Both McGavin and Vaughn do pretty well given the material they're given. The rest of the cast ranges from okay (William Schallert as Professor Mills) to bad (any of the actors playing a government agent) to utterly forgettable. The cast though is pretty indicative of the rest of the movie.

Hangar 18 also has a dated feel thanks to its production values, which look cheap. The entire opening sequence of the film involving the space shuttle mission gives this away blatantly: the interior set of the shuttle cockpit is ludicrous while there is a hilariously bad attempt at zero g (by having the actors walk around in slow motion) while outside the shuttle is represented by a model that looks as though it was bought right off a store shelf. Things improve somewhat when the movie comes down to Earth thankfully. Many of the Earthbound locations look pretty good including the NASA mission control room, the office of Vaughn's character and the title hanger itself while the UFO and its contents are a bit of a let down. The rest of Hangar 18 has the feel of a low-budget TV movie out of the late 1970s in every other way which bogs the film down and makes the 97 minute running length seems to be much, much longer. Cheap and definitely effective overall then.

Perhaps there is not greater place where Hangar 18 is dated then in its script. The basic premise though is interesting: during a space shuttle mission to deploy a satellite ("the first" according to dialogue but never mind), said satellite collides with a nearby UFO which then crashes to Earth. With a Presidential election just two weeks away, the White House decides to hold off announcing this and instigate a cover-up for fear of political repercussions. While a group of NASA scientists and technicians go about investigating the UFO and make surprising discoveries, the two surviving astronauts are effectively framed and set out to unravel the cover-up. A nice idea right? Maybe but definitely not in the way its done here. There are some sizable plot holes and leaps (a most unscientific examination of the UFO and its contents being a prime example) throughout that make it just a bit too difficult to suspend disbelief on top of all the aforementioned issues the movie has. Not to mention quite a bit of cringe-worthy dialogue especially from the two astronaut character's that are so much the focus of the film. There are also perhaps too many ideas being thrown into the plot as well. The script feels like a smörgåsbord of late 1970s conspiracy theories and science fiction clichés: you have the two astronauts trying to unravel the cover-up, the NASA team investigating the UFO, the political machinations of the chief of staff and then the NASA team starting confirming bits and pieces of Van Daniken and others theories about ancient astronauts. The result is that the script and the movie feel very unfocused and very dated.

Where does that leave Hangar 18? Well it's a mixed bag all around from its acting to its production values and its script. Above all else though is a dated piece of work that proves that it is very much a product of the time it was created.

Lots of bad press here for Hangar 18, but I was pleasantly surprised with its taught yet somewhat far-fetched script, believable acting(not grandiose by any standards), and fast, compelling pace. Sure, this is a lot of hokey sci-fi stuff about the government hiding an alien ship, discrediting astronauts to save one man's election, and eventually...well, can't say too much more without letting the proverbial cat out of the bag. I guess it is out of the realm of possibility that OUR government would do any of those terrible things? For a feature film, its budget is rather...OK, very small.

The film definitely has the look and feel of one of those good 70s television movies on a Friday or Saturday night. Gary Collins and James Hampton play the astronauts out to prove they have been set up after witnessing a spaceship whilst sending a satellite into orbit. Both actors are competent if nothing else in their roles. Throw in Robert Vaughn, William Schallert, Joseph Campanella and some other luminaries from the small screen. All the actors do competent jobs. The big acting bonus is Darren McGavin as the man in charge of learning about the alien spacecraft. McGavin plays the role with great credibility. Anyone else notice his Kolchak swagger and sneakers throughout the film? Hangar 18 more than anything for me made me think about certain things. The story has just enough juice to be almost profound at times. Now, I know it has cheesy effects...the aliens look like slimmed-down versions of Uncle Fester, but there are a lot of big budget sci-fi films that never generate any thought. Did you see The Matrix III?

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.

A three man space shuttle crew (including Gary Collins and James Hampton) encounter a UFO in space while launching a satellite. The odd man out gets decapitated when the satellite and UFO collide, sending the alien ship down to Earth where the US government snags it. They place it in Hangar 18 so the head of NASA (Darren McGavin) and his team can study it. Things get complicated when the President's Chief of Staff (Robert Vaughn) goes overboard on covering the story up ("The election is just two weeks away") and creates a fake story about the two astronauts being responsible for their colleague's death (this makes things easier how?). Of course, our two heroes have seen CAPRICORN ONE and aren't going to stand for this cover-up. This is pretty standard stuff but an enjoyable 97 minutes thanks to the lead performances. Well, Collins does have one screeching bit. Vaughn probably did only a couple of days work as they always cut away to him orchestrating things in his office. The leaps the filmmakers take with him are hilarious (his team has a file on the town layabout who saw the UFO land) and the plot holes are plenty (if silence is necessary for these two weeks pre-election, why not lock up the two astronauts you already have detained). The film opens with a "this is a true story about our government" scroll so the audiences knew the real deal.