After 38 years, you might think that everything will ring false in the depiction of an ET encounter. But actually, the film stands very well together. I was expecting a campy ET suit with an obvious human shape not too well hidden - but instead, there is a logical explanation why the ET looks almost human (spoilers...). This is one of these old movies where there was a scenario and special effects were just a support of the scenario. I also like how they portray the investigators... and how the actors portray their reactions in very realistic ways. Worth watching!

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.

Well if your reading this your either bored, deciding on whether or not to watch it or just trying to get some perspective. So lemme' clear the air.First off, this is a sci-fi movie in the way the smith/goldbloom blockbuster "independance day" is. In other words its not a sci-fi movie but more of a fantasy action drama. You could even consider it a kind of cop chase movie crammed with ample techno-psycho babble. But I don't think those genres are quite fitting. I personally deem it a sorta pulpy/campy flick and possibly a soon to be cult classic. That said, don't compare it to "independence day". Think more along the lines of kubrik's "dr. strange love or how i..." Who will like this movie? Well studied and open minded ufo nerds, people who laugh at things that ain't meant to be funny, film students and of course stoners. Who will hate it? People who read the book first, people who like any vin deisel movie or magnolia, film critics and of course stoners. Whats the straight dope? Its very well shot, but its pock marked with terrible and often confusing dialog. It has constant trouble pacing the scenes but the action bits seem way too cool. As a pluss the actors give a serious tour deforce and make sure to keep an eye out for Charlton Heston. By far, the most grooved out aspect is wondering how much of todays media was inspired by this movie.The best- an astronaut spontaneously stealing a car. The worst- the first 10 minutes. The line to know- "Airplanes crash every day."

I saw it when it first premiered on television, Gary Collins was at KPIX in SFO at the time, it was some morning show if I remember right. Several years later I bought the movies on std VHS, it cost 85 dollars then. The design of the craft itself was just awesome, interestingly that design of the ship is rendered in the architecture of the Yavapai Apache police HQ to an extent. It landed just below the Cliff Castle Casino in Camp Verde Arizona, so to speak. The website for the casino at one time had a shockwave flash of a shooting star which represents the UFO's lightning speed descent. And it is the Flag-Mother-Ship of all Indian Casino's in the nation. I am the author of the political strategy that made Indian gaming possible in California. No public declaration to that fact has been made, but I am the author without question.Well, back to the storyline. I wish there was a sequel to Hanger 18 which begins where it left off, now the remaining surviving scientists aboard the craft had better learn to fly it. The new twist being where to park it, so it can be studied further (If you recall the Designated Landing Areas), The scientists problem has been compounded twofold and must now keep it out of the hands of both the government as well as the aliens who flew it here. If you want to see backyard footage of the real thing flying over Sonora, Calif. Please go to sonorasightings dot com. Its the multi-lighted one on the start page. What do you think? Doesn't that look like the same pulsating ship and plasma firings similar to the craft in the movie. I did a frame by frame analysis of the video...its all authentic coverage....some frames reveal the modular shape of the pilots tower bridge, other modules, and the square plates around the perimeter of the saucer...very few frames I might add, it was filmed at night and reviewed in presence of witnesses. Hope its of interest, enough to demand an explanation from our government, how is it "they" can fly at will anywhere including restricted airspace without FAA beacons. And note the plasma or fusion technology modes and behaviors of these various craft.Also the elections scenario of the movie is akin to the "Four More Years" of the Republican Party Obtained by the first Bush after Reagan's two terms, interestingly enough.