One of the all time great opening themes (by Jerry Goldsmith) pounds furiously over the credits. Then this conspiracy thriller settles in and a sense of unease is established almost immediately. A sterile controller announces information that is often ironically at odds with what's shown onscreen. Three astronauts are about to fly to Mars, but something is just not right despite everyone's enthusiasm. Sure enough, the mission is doomed to failure. However, some upper level governmental types have decided to stage the whole thing with cameras and a dusty set and force the astronauts to play along while the world watches what it believes is a real Mars landing. Unfortunately, when the actual module burns up in reentry, the astronauts realize that, technically, they are dead. Now they must fight for their lives as the conspirators, with all the U.S. military's resources, become determined to wipe them out. The astronauts are played by Brolin (sturdy and heroic if a touch wooden), Waterston (nerdish and fond of ice-breaking bad jokes) and Simpson (ill-defined and played very amateurishly.) The head of the conspiracy is played by Holbrook in the type of role that he excels at and no one else can play quite as effectively. He is given a showy monologue in the film. Gould stars as a reporter who senses something foul about the whole matter after his friend, a skeptical controller, disappears into thin air. Vaccaro scores as Brolin's worried, but stalwart wife. Peppered amongst these star roles is a series of cameos by known faces. Black (an actress who starred in seemingly half of all 1970's films and then completely dropped off the radar!) is a sarcastic reporter friend of Gould's. Huddleston spits out several snappy lines as a Congressman. Savalas turns in a surprisingly amusing, yet thankfully brief performance near the end. The whole thing is riddled with plot holes and illogic, but is so compelling and, at times exciting, that most first time viewers won't care. The atmosphere of dread and malice is strong, but is relieved by some really witty dialogue and some hair-raising action sequences. One flaw is the films overlength. Even just a few minutes of trimming would have tightened it up for even more impact. However, it remains a watchable, intriguing film. The aforementioned score is tremendous. The film also features pairs of black helicopters which are piloted by faceless hunters. These machines are given bird of prey-like qualities which render them quite menacing and memorable. TV addicts will note many actors in the cast with familiar faces including Sikking, Bosson, Doyle and Bryant (legendary for her work in "Airplane!") Finally, the film affords an amusing chance to see the former Mr. Streisand (Gould) run alongside the future Mr. Streisand (Brolin.) That alone, gives the movie a sort of camp, cult status.
