Salyut-7 contains such beautiful imagery that it’s possible to appreciate it without subtitles or any understanding of Russian—which might actually be a good idea, because the story has been stretched so far that even Baron Münchhausen wouldn't believe it. Essentially, after contact with the Salyut 7 space station is lost, cosmonauts Vladimir Fyodorov (Vladimir Vdovichenkov) and Viktor Alyokhin (Pavel Derevyanko) are sent to try and regain control of the ship and fix it. The docking attempts that follow, edited by Mariya Sergeenkova in a way resembling a courtship ritual, offer the film's strongest moments. Sergey Astakhov and Ivan Burlakov’s cinematography delivers some of the most impressive and, I have to say, believable depictions of outer space I’ve seen since Ad Astra (which was released two years later). However, Salyut-7's visual strengths aren't just limited to showing vastness of space; it also works very well in the cramped interior spaces of the ship. While orbiting, the film is generally a treat for the eyes. The issue is that the filmmakers devote too much time on Earth creating unnecessary and improbable conflicts. The mission has a ticking clock because of two things. One involves the idea that NASA is attempting to recover Salyut-7 and take Soviet secrets using the space shuttle Challenger (before its accident), intending to bring the station back to Earth inside the shuttle's cargo bay. This kind of plot would be suitable for a James Bond movie, but here it just diminishes the seriousness of the situation. The second reason is the limited oxygen supply, low temperatures, and other conditions that Vladimir and Viktor have to contend with, forcing them to repair the station within a few days or risk dying from lack of oxygen and/or extreme cold. The actual mission lasted 112 days (over three months), and the astronauts wore warm clothing—in the film, they don’t even have gloves. Many other events are greatly exaggerated or completely fabricated, while others fall into predictable clichés—like the person in the control center becoming overly contemplative while everyone else is celebrating. It's disappointing because Salyut-7 is, visually speaking, a perfect example of the story about how NASA spent a lot of money developing a pen that could write in zero gravity (you can easily replace “NASA” with “Hollywood” and "pen that could write in zero gravity" with “CGI”).

Source on TMDB