Stranded is a movie. I'll give you that. A good one? Far from it. A medium one? Still not quit there. A C+ at its best because really, what the heck was the point of it? 4 people in space, with uber technology (except, the cars are still normal and other stuff that they couldn't "upgrade") with no power for light (the entire movie), with a dialogue that will make you weep at times, and with those very quite intelligent "hey, it really happened!!"; "Neah, it must be all in your head. Even tho what you say makes perfect sense regarding the surroundings, we can't believe you because the script doesn't allow us to".

So you have to watch something perfectly predictable, non captivating whatsoever, not original, not even trying to be something. What is the point? Why make a movie like this? It won't help anyone's career let's face it, and most of you out there, the lucky ones, won't get to see it, won't even ever find out it exists. Lucky bastards...

In 1986, the movie Aliens appears, a future like none would ever imagine, effects made brilliantly that still stand tall after almost 30 years! In 2013 they make Stranded, and you can't help to wonder, how is this even possible? Any of it?

Don't watch Stranded, you'll just waste time that you'll want back. So many other films out there.

Try Cargo, a German movie. Try Pandorum. Try Fortress. Just try something else!

Cheers!

I just watched STRANDED and its Bonus Features. I thought it was alright. It could have been more fun and suspenseful, but the concept is pretty good - meteor shower destroys much of a moon base's functionality and communications, leaving 4 astronauts stranded.

The ensemble is pretty good and each character is different from one another. The actors do a decent job with the material and props they have to work with. One example is how they talk into a communicator/holographic recorder, which is actually an auto-folding book light!!! You know it's a book light, but the actors keep a straight face, anyway. Same with some of the dialogue and character motivations (or lack thereof).

The writing and direction is pretty dodgy (from good to lame), but not unexpected from the man who brought you BATTLEFIELD EARTH! For example: There is an Earth-bound scene that could have had some real potential, but shooting it in daylight reveals a recovery team to be only one Hummer and 4 guys! Smoke and flashlights would have worked wonders - you could have used the same 4 guys, and made them look like a whole squad.

What really stood out for me was the use of miniatures over computer graphics. After reading about how cheap and awful this movie was supposed to be, I was pleasantly surprised with the look of the moon base, drilling machines, escape pod, and another ship that looked very good, in a Nostromo-type of landing. There is some CG, but it is appropriately used for heads up displays and holographs.

There are some creepy moments, involving contagion, a birth and clone replication. Some of the makeup effects are nice and gooey! Nothing mind-blowing, but I was happy to see some competent makeup effects. In other words, this isn't a SyFy computer FX fiasco, so points for that! To sum this up, the mainstream audience probably won't like this, but it's a potentially guilty pleasure for sci-fi/horror geeks, like myself. Just don't expect too much.

The sets on display here (thankfully can only be seen at the beginning of the movie for a short period of time) are so bad, that you'd wish they'd have used a Lego set. Pretty sure that would've added more realism to the whole thing. Realism and being serious though being things that destroy this movie faster than an Ant's sneeze would take to destroy the "set". Just slightly faster though.

While the interior is somewhat OK (compared to the exterior you could say a Quantum leap), this is not all that is wrong with the movie. There is also the plot. The thin thread that is holding together all the "action" and "excitement" you're about to witness. Slater obviously needs money and you do wonder (or I do), if that is still the same actor who I cherished from movies such as "True Romance". If the movie would just try to relish on how messed up it is and go for the "let's make fun of ourselves", it might have been somewhat entertaining. Unfortunately the only thing you might feel, is sorry for the actors ... Stay clear, for your own good