av1kenobe Look, there are those who tell you "Don't watch this" or "It's the worst movie ever!" who in my opinion don't have a life! The bottom line is the movie is just plan good entertainment. Yes, the premise can be questioned at some points, but I have seen a lot worse than this one. As for TV movies, this is one of the better films I have enjoyed in a long time. I enjoyed the visuals, the acting was believable, and I was entertained. Some parts of the movie are far-fetched but that was most of fiction is. This is not based on a true story, and if Jerry B. had more time than 2 months to make it than it probably would have been better. Comparing it to Apollo 13 is not fair. This is fiction, Apollo 13 was based on actual events. I enjoyed this one more than Armageddon, which in my opinion was total crap!! If all you you do is pick it apart then you won't like it. This is worth seeing. I taped it off TV so I get to enjoy when I Like.

Tai Fang Though advertised as a 'film' (i.e. theater movie) in the TV guide, IMDb confirmed the obvious signs of a TV movie. Things I thought were cheap: the use of the solo e.guitar to emphasize heroism (this effect is so cheap that refer to it as 'the p*rn guitar') and a man's choir to emphasize determination, or something. The wobbly camera in the a-drift (but stable) spaceship. I don't mean the shots done by the astronaut, those looked believable by its light-weight camera jerkyness. Things that needed a little imagination: The blowtorch, not only to imagine where the oxygen came from, but also how a soldering device can cut through metal (and give off sparks doing so). And why astronauts shift their weight from one leg to the other, moving around in a shuttle in orbit. Things that could have been worse: The animation of the tolling spacecraft, and how the crew experienced and handled it. The dialog - a lot of it sounded quite natural. There's no obligatory heat or animosity in discussions, no improbable loads of wit. Some cheesy stuff like the grinning bum in the end, or the surprise of the motorists on the improvised runway. Good for a chuckle though. Containing a lot of standard ingredients, but also showing skill (camera, lighting... no artwork however). Errors (out of laziness, time pressure?) and fair accuracy.

TheHerald All in all, it's a shame this was a TV-only movie, since it compares very favourably to most other modern space-action movies. All the technical and political details about NASA and the shuttle seemed accurate as far as I could tell, and if the situation was a little contrived, this is hardly unique to this movie. All in all, a most enjoyable movie.

SanderStrijbos What was I thinking when I rented this one? What did the distributor think when he copied the tape and shipped it all the way to Holland? That anyone really wanted to see this s***?!?It's about some astronauts getting into trouble outer space (Apollo 13 flashback, but never even in the shadow of this fine film) and they want to return to home. If you act in such a film, you should be glad that you're gonna drift away from earth as far as possible!This one wants to surf on the small wave of space movies in 1998 (Deep Impact and Armageddon), and this one fails everywhere. Deep Impact and Armageddon weren't perfect either (far from it), but they were at least worth watching once (and maybe one more time when we're all old). They gave some fun. Max Q doesn't. It gives irritation. Okay, okay. It's a TV movie, but does that mean you're allowed to come up with such a mess?If you haven't choked in your own vomit by the end (by all the cheap drama and worthless dialogue) you've must have bored yourself to death with this waste of time.It gets at its worst at the end when the space shuttle lands on... No, I can't 'spoil' this one (IMDb guidelines forbid it). So you have to see for yourself. NO! DON'T SEE IT (sorry), but rent a movie which is worth renting (like Battlefield Earth... just kidding!)Probably the worst one I have ever seen.