Peter Hyams’ loopy conspiracy thriller has the American government faking a Mars landing to score political points, a storyline so ’70s it almost hurts. The outrageous concept is rich with visual and narrative potential, only some of which writer-director Hyams mines in his entertaining but inconsistent narrative. The main problem with the movie is also its main contrivance: After participating in the hoax, three astronauts learn that the government expects them to crash during their spaceship’s staged return to terra firma, because they’ve got to disappear for real in order to sell the illusion. Quick question No. 1: If the astronauts can’t be trusted, then how can the dozens of technicians involved in mounting the conspiracy be trusted? Quick question No. 2: How does a crash landing give the government the PR win they’re seeking by staging a fake Mars landing in the first place? Don’t look for answers, because logic takes a backseat to pulpy fun as plot twists slam into place so quickly they cause cinematic whiplash. The bits depicting the actual fabrication of the Mars landing are colorful, but oddly enough a long sequence of leading man James Brolin trapped in the deserts of the American Southwest is more vivid. Hal Holbrook shines as the main conspirator, delivering an epic monologue toward the beginning of the picture that lays out the particulars of the plot; with his mesmerizing scowl and lilting voice, Holbrook’s one of the few actors who can make that many minutes of unbroken speech compelling. Elliot Gould plays a combination Woodward and Bernstein as the intrepid reporter who tracks the case, doing his amiable bumbling-schnook routine, and the endangered astronauts at the heart of the story are portrayed by a truly eclectic trio: Brolin, O.J. Simpson, and Sam Waterston. They’re so mismatched that they represent of sliding scale of American acting, from Simpson’s cheerful incompetence to Brolin’s vapid professionalism to Waterston’s earnest skillfulness. Ace character players James B. Sikking and Robert Walden are in the mix too, as is Telly Savalas in a gonzo cameo that adds gleeful absurdity to the climax.
Capricorn One: GROOVY
The ship wasn't supposed to crash. The capsule was going to return to Earth, but due to a malfunction, it burned up in re-entry. THAT'S when the government decided to kill the astronauts, because if they were seen alive after their capsule was destroyed, everybody would know the mission was faked.
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ReplyDeleteHow blessed are we that OJ starred in at least one conspiracy theory film? Let's face it; if a complex full of NASA techs can keep a secret for the rest of their lives and participate in a fake Mars landing, then maybe the entirety of the LA PD can all snickeringly be in on framing a beloved American icon?
I visited JPL a couple years ago on a private tour through a friend of a friend. I asked the technician guiding us if such things as fake moon landings were possible. He laughed and said that he couldn’t see how this could happen as you’d have to keep hundreds of technicians quiet and there is no way the information wouldn’t leak out somehow.
ReplyDeleteThe plot is out there but you go with it because its fun but the most ridiculous aspect of the film is the end where the President is giving a speech at a funeral with a grand total of about 4 Secret Service people present and a speeding car is allowed to drive up through the graveyard, stop, and have two men get out and start sprinting towards the President.
ReplyDeleteWe watched this movie last night. You are right, the plot is an open-mesh mess. I fast-forwarded thru it until Gould's character started to get going on the trail of the 'fishiness'. It's a 70's movie to the core; cars, decor, drinks and a mega-sarcastic and crabby editor. Karen Black's screentime was too short- did she cough up her $100 and her Datsun Z quick or what!? Telly S's cropduster was right on target.
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