Overrated and an embarrassment

Rating: 2/10 (26 August 2014)

Let's start with why it's overrated. The plot is boring. Yes, boring. A space action movie that's boring with is an accomplishment, kind of. This is happening a lot with Hollywood where writers are paid a thousand bucks to write a script and a billion dollars on special effects. Compare and contrast to the tense and gripping scifi film "Moon". Or "Dark Star". But if those aren't mainstream enough, consider Planet of the Apes (original) made on a shoestring budget. You can make a great scifi film without a lot of money.
Next, the acting. Big stars in big, empty roles. Their pedigrees actually made me ask why the film is so boring. Like the astronauts, they gasped for air to be interesting in stereotypical roles and failed. Consider great scifi movies with nameless talent at the time: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and a villain you never even get to see his face and robots.
Next, the embarrassment part: The India mars mission cost less than the film, something they are proud of. The USA space program had a greater day and now Hollywood spends similar money to make sub-par films that used to put men on the moon. Shameful. Disgusting.
Finally, I suppose the biggest problem with the film is that the space station itself is boring much like a bus station in space. Aging Soviet rockets take astronauts and cosmonauts to 70's era style cans to monitor experiments and then back down to Earth. Nothing groundbreaking. When was the last time you watched space station footage with excitement? Since the real thing is boring, how to make an improbable real life scenario interesting? Lifeforce (space sex vampires on the space shuttle) was more fun (for the love of God, I'm glad Sandra Bullock wasn't cast in that leading role!)
Hmm, perhaps something more fun would be a MURDER in space. Perhaps someone dies on the station while everyone is asleep and they try to solve the mystery on the ground. That crazy diaper wearing astronaut could be the inspiration. Hmmm.... I should write that up and register it as a screenplay...