Stranded (2001)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Here we go with an ultra-obscure science fiction flick. As far as I can gather, "Stranded" is a Spanish film, either dubbed or shot simultaneously in English. The film is set in the year 2020. Man is just getting ready to land on Mars for the first time. A crew of seven is getting ready to step on solid ground when disaster strikes. The landing craft crashes and is unsalvageable. The only astronaut not on Mars is forced to return to Earth to get help, a trip that will take a whopping 26 months. Meanwhile, the captain has been killed on impact and there is no way the crew can survive the wait unless they get creative. The film follows them as they explore every possibility to maintain their oxygen and water supply but it quickly becomes apparent that there simply isn't enough power to keep everyone alive for that long."Stranded" starts off pretty rough, with some awful dialog and pretty wooden performances but as the movie plays out, it gets a lot better and as a sci-fi movie, it's not too bad in the end. I can't emphasize enough how terrible the beginning of the film is. As the crew are about to land on Mars, they are being interviewed. The newscaster asks them "Why Mars? What do you expect to find there?" and the audience looks befuddled. Did they really ask the astronauts why they are going to the planet closest to Earth, and what they expect to see there? What kind of idiotic interview is this? It really doesn't help either that Danel Aser, who plays Herbert is truly awful in his role. He is given lines like "There's something we're going to start to accept: We're no longer on a mission to Mars, we're shipwrecked. We'll have to accept a great deal of suffering and discomfort. Don't worry. I'm used to facing extreme situations." And "We all know that oxygen is the most abundant element in the rocks on Mars, don't we?" It would be laugh-out-loud funny if it wasn't so pathetic. Maria Lidon as Susana Sanchez, the second in command is also giving a bad performance. Who am I kidding? Everyone starts of pretty lousy. It's a really rough start.Thankfully, the movie does get better because the premise is solid. Think about it. When you're say... stranded on an island you do have that worry about food and water (Depending on where you are) but there's always a sliver of hope that you can build a raft or catch someone's attention and get rescued. Not here. Even if all of the pieces of the crashed ship were somehow salvageable it would be impossible to construct a craft capable of bringing our unfortunate astronauts back to Earth. There's a reason people compare something difficult to rocket science. On top of that, there are two additional resources that are in short supply: air and heat. The difficulty level just got cranked up a notch. That's the danger of space travel, the fact that you are completely isolated, completely alone (to a certain extent) and in this case, literally on an alien world. The introduction and development of these ideas is where the movie really starts to kick off. There's some decent tension as you try and figure out who's going to screw up and get themselves killed, who's going to get cabin fever cooped up in that tiny ship and who is going to try and back stab the rest. I'm not necessarily saying all of these events happen, I'm just saying that they're all very real possibilities. Towards the end of the movie there are some cool ideas thrown around and some pretty good moments as the characters really reach desperation. Being totally honest though, I will admit that at times, particularly during the first half, the movie wasn't very exciting and I found my mind wandering more than once."Stranded" is not a great film, but there are some pretty good moments in it. It asks some interesting questions and it's fun to think about what you would do in the same situation as our protagonists. How do you decide who lives and who dies? At what point is there really no hope? What are the dangers of space exploration? If you're a hardcore fan of survival stories and you like science fiction (and this is science fiction because it contains technology that does not exist yet and is set in the future) it's worth a rental. At home, sitting on the couch where you can get up and get a snack while you listen in on some of the drama it's enjoyable. You'll have to forgive the truly awful introduction but hey, it's always preferable for a film to have a weak beginning than a weak ending so where it counts, it works. (Fullscreen version on DVD, October 27, 2013)

If you like spectacular special effects, creatures and explosions, move on. However, to me this is one of the film's strong points. Granted, it is a fairly low-budget production but achieves a convincing amount of realism. My willful suspension of disbelief was tested by the fact that the astronauts don't behave much like astronauts, some of the acting is far from stellar and my inner geek was offended by a few minor scientific errors. For instance; Vincent Gallo gives a top-notch performance but in my opinion was miscast. Real astronauts are just not that high - strung. Director María Lidón cast herself in the lead role but, in contrast to Gallo, was too low keyed. Production values are generally high, particularly considering that the main spacecraft set was recycled from Space Cowboys. The location shots on the island of Lanzarote do indeed look quite a bit like Mars. Lidón is to be commended for the film and resisting the temptation to resort to over-the-top effects and clichés. Compared to other films of this genre, and budget, it stands out and entertains.

If you dislike slow pace, and needs lots of explosions or adventure in your science-fiction films, avoid Stranded. You won't enjoy it.But if you like slow, realistic, thought provoking sci-fi (films like 2001 or Solaris) with a twist of psychological drama, then give Stranded a go.On a tiny budget, I believe the makers of Stranded have achieved a deeper, more interesting Mars film than any other to date.Six Astronauts aboard the first mission to Mars, crash their ship when landing, and the only hope of rescue is a potential 3 year wait for another ship from Earth. With not enough air, water or energy to last for 3 years, the film asks - what would you do? The settings are believable, the acting a little varied (some accents might even be dubbed), and the special effects merely OK. It looks like a mere BBC TV special. But try not to be distracted by these quibbles.Apart from an initial space travel shot or two, special effects aren't needed. The film's real strength is the tension between the characters as they sit huddled in the wreckage of their ship, and the harsh reality of their situation.Even a science fiction twist at the end remains believable, thanks to it's understated nature.I went into this film expecting a terrible b-grade sci-fi film. Instead, I found myself on the edge of my seat from beginning to end, and was frankly blown away by it's mature effort (on such a tiny budget) to portray a sci-fi scenario on Mars.Highly recommended for lovers of sincere and realistic sci-fi drama.

I originally rented this movie as something to watch while my mom and sister watched "Must Love Dogs" in the other room. Within ten minutes I found myself preferring the chick flick. The opening scene of the movie was all I needed to realize I had just wasted five and a half bucks. The film begins with a newscast in which a reporter sets the scene for the rest of the film. A good idea, right? Except that the reporter delivers in a deadpan. He says, "This is a historic moment" in a voice you'd probably expect to hear in a lecture on earwax. The rest of the movie follows this pattern to the point where I wanted to throttle the lead actress while screaming, "Have you even READ the script?" In short, I've seen beer commercials with better acting, better writing, better special effects, and better story lines.