Critic's Grade: B-

Talk about an eerie case of foreshadowing. Not even a full year before the near-disastrous spaceflight of the Apollo 13 mission, director John Sturges brought us "Marooned," a not-so-quaint science fiction flick depicting a near-identical situation with similar circumstances and outcomes to that 1970 would-be tragedy. It was just supposed to be a routine excursion into the final frontier, but for crew members Jim Pruett (Richard Crenna), Clayton Stone (James Franciscus), and Buzz Lloyd (Gene Hackman), the fact that their retro rockets fail to engage during their re-entry preparation poses a very serious problem. With waning power supply and their oxygen running out by the minute, the astronauts must contend with the possibility of never returning home, while back on Earth, chief of the manned space program Charles Keith (Gregory Peck) and a senior astronaut, Ted Dougherty (David Janssen), must plan a rescue mission.

Its unwitting status as a precursor to reality aside, "Marooned" is solidly made and well-acted, but consider this: Ron Howard's "Apollo 13," made twenty-five years after the fact, was able to create suspense and tension even when the outcome was always in sight. For some reason, Sturges is unable to accomplish this with his film: between all the scientific hubbub and moments of emotional breakdowns and tearful exchanges, there's long, drawn-out periods where not much happens to keep things up to speed intensity-wise. This is quite odd, for "Marooned" could easily be called a carbon copy of "Apollo 13," and the fact that at the time of its release its final outcome was pretty much unknown, you'd think this would provide some sort of excitement. But no. Good acting, Oscar-winning special effects, and passionate direction considered, "Marooned" feels about as empty as the great wide beyond.

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