Now it's time for a review of the '70s feature, Capricorn One. It's getting a new blu-ray release tomorrow.
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"Look!!! It's the Aluminum Falcon!! I just love modern science!" |
A favorite conspiracy in the American cultural zeitgeist –
both among conspiracy theorists who actually believe it, and sane people who
joke about it – is the idea that we never really made it to the moon, and the
lunar landing was a hoax. Even Interstellar made a joke about
moon-landing conspiracy theories, when its post-ecological-disaster government
convinces the public to look to the earth rather than the stars by spreading
false propaganda that the hoax theory was actually true. With the prevalence
and semi-ironic popularity of the fake-moon-landing concept, it was only a
matter of time before a filmmaker made a movie about it. And fortunately for
all of us, that filmmaker wound up being cheese maestro Peter Hyams (Timecop,
The Relic, Outland). Of course, Hyams' Capricorn One is actually
about a near-future NASA faking a Mars landing... but it's no secret that the
film just takes the moon-landing conspiracy theories and runs with them like
crazy. The result is archetypal of that 70s-thriller sub-genre: short on
believability, but packing plenty of thrills, suspenseful set-pieces, and camp
appeal. And as usual for that type of film, it has one hell of a cast: Ellott Gould,
James Brolin, Sam Waterston, Karen Black, Hal Holbrook, Brenda Vaccaro, Telly
Savalas, James Karen... and in a bit of casting that history has made rather
unfortunate... O.J. Simpson. Depending on your point of view, the presence of
O.J. in the movie either makes the whole experience a bit uncomfortable, adds
to the movie's camp appeal, or a bit of both, but either way it surely lends
the film a bit of notoriety that is oddly appropriate for its bizarre
conspiracy-theory theme.
With a running time of over two hours (again, in keeping with
its post-Poseidon Adventure genre roots), the plot takes twists and
turns which only add to the silliness of the already out-there plot, but
writer/director Hyams takes that all in stride, and makes it part of the fun.
The script is quite knowing about its over-the-top conspiracy-bait nature, and
has just enough of a sense of humor about itself to make it all work, perhaps
better than it should. And Hyams' direction just sells it even further: the
thrills are strong enough that we have no problem going along for the ride and
having a great time, even if we know in the backs of our minds that everything
we're seeing is pretty silly. Actually, we go along for the ride and have a
great time because we know in the backs of our minds that it's pretty
silly: this is summer popcorn cinema of the purest kind, and Hyams knows
exactly what he's doing in that area. This is, after all, the same guy who made
Timecop such a fun and entertaining popcorn flick despite having
possibly the most distractingly nonsensical time-travel logic of any sci-fi
story ever. He has plenty of help from his strong cast as well: Gould, Brolin,
and Holbrook in particular carry the film with strong performances. This is no Poseidon
Adventure, mind you: the film definitely has its flaws, like a few
pointless and meandering sequences that should have been trimmed to tighten up
the running time. Nonetheless, it's a
solidly entertaining entry in this unmistakable sub-genre which deserves to be
better-known than it is. Anyone who enjoys this type of film will find a lot to
like.
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"Maybe if I hide in this run down garage, OJ won't be able to find me. But, this golf club will still protect me." |