Pretty, boring.

Rating: 6/10 (5 July 2019)

The visuals in this movie are absolutely incredible. The set design is beautiful, the cinematography is well executed, and practical effects are reminiscent of a long past generation of sci-fi movies that didn't rely on CGI for everything. It's been a while since I've seen a movie and audibly said 'whoa' as I took in the scenery.
Unfortunately the writing, particularly the dialogue, is pretty bad. It doesn't help that the delivery by some of the main cast is just weak at times when its supposed to be compelling.
The *SCIENCE* aspect of this SCI-fi movie is, bafflingly, perhaps the worst aspect of the film. Everything going on is explained in long-cut exposition scenes, which would be the points of the movie where I would take a minute to rest my eyes. It's not particularly interesting or challenging unless you didn't do biology in high school, and I think these scenes could've been cut completely and the movie would even benefit.
There are some scenes where the movie finally starts to build tension, but then something absurd will happen and any tension is instantly killed. I can't go into detail without spoiling the movie, but if you end up watching this for yourself, you'll definitely recognize the scenes I'm talking about.
I didn't know that this movie was based off a book before watching it, but I did guess halfway through, since the whole time the movie came off as a bad book adaptation. I haven't read the book so I couldn't tell you how closely it follows the source material, but given that the only part about this movie I really enjoyed was the cinematography, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the source material that's holding this movie back.
If you do decide to watch this movie, I recommend muting it. Your experience will be much better.