"Charade" director Stanley Donen's "Saturn 3," with Kirk Douglas, Farrah Fawcett, and Harvey Keitel, proves once again that robots—no matter how smart they are—are no match for humans. It also proves that despite his age, Kirk Douglas remains as fit and athletic as ever—and that Farrah Fawcett's talent is really how loud she can shriek.<br /><br />Although "Saturn 3" has the elements to make it a minor classic as sci-fi suspense thrillers go, the movie flounders because of awkward scripting, phony special effects, and Stanley Donen's lackluster helming.<br /><br />The story is set in the future, with neither date nor year provided. The action confines itself to the maze-like setting of a space station. A mentally unbalanced captain, Benson (Harvey Keitel of "Mean Streets"), murders a fellow officer on board a huge space ship by blowing him out of the ship's escape hatch. The captain then takes the dead man's place on a mission to deliver a robot to an experimental food laboratory on Saturn manned by Adam (Kirk Douglas of "The War Wagon") and Alexis (Farrah Fawcett of "Charlie's Angels"). In the words of Adam, if the universe needed an enema, they'd stick the nozzle in at Saturn 3.<br /><br />When the captain arrives, he claims that he is there to help Adam and Alexis with their research which has fallen behind schedule. He has also brought along a new robot, "the first of the new demigod series" to aid them. The captain also takes more than a passing interest in Alexis and decides to steal her from Adam.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the captain assembles the robot—named Hector—and teaches him through direct input from the captain's brain to the robot's huge capsule-encased brain. Eventually, Hector turns against the captain and tries to take over Saturn 3.<br /><br />Scenarists Martin—actor & novelist turned writer--Amis and Oscar-winning "Star Wars" art director John Barry establish textbook suspense by putting Saturn 3 into shadow lock when an eclipse occurs. Shadow lock lasts for 22 days, cutting our trio off from the rest of the universe. No radio messages can be sent from Saturn 3 and none received. What could be more unnerving than to be trapped in a space lab on a desolate planet—especially with a mad robot on the loose! Long before the space station goes into shadow lock, "Saturn 3" is in trouble. Amis never explains why Benson murdered his fellow officer. Or what Benson hoped to gain at the space station. We don't really know if Hector was bound for Saturn 3. Amis never really gets Douglas and Fawcett into any tight spots. There are several close calls, but nothing that will put you on the edge of your seat.<br /><br />As the movie's chief villain, Hector-the-robot offers few surprises. Certainly, he looks intimidating, but he's not nearly as vicious or intelligent as the monster in Ridley Scott's "Alien." At one point, Adam disables Hector by overloading its batteries when the robot tries to recharge itself. Later, Adam tries to kill Hector by blowing him up. Why didn't Adam simply just run Hector's batteries down and overload him again? More often than not, a science fiction movie is only as good as its special effects. In this department, "Saturn 3" leaves a lot to be desired. The space ships look like plastic models, and the planets seem to be cardboard cut-outs. Veteran director Stanley Donen, with help from Barry, generates atmosphere and suspense, but "Saturn 3" drags along in places, suddenly accelerates, and then stalls out. There are some good moments, like Benson teaching Hector. Kirk Douglas and Farrah Fawcett make a good duo. Elmer Bernstein's sinister music reminds you a little of Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey." While "Saturn 3" cannot begin to compare with "2001," "Star Wars," and "Star Trek," Donen's film surpasses "The Black Hole" and "Starship Invasions." If you enjoy science fiction movies, hokum like "Saturn 3" should appeal to you.