Genuinely horrific; lovely stylizing

Rating: 9/10 (28 August 2018)

Man, this flick is getting slagged off at!
It really isn't worth all that negative energy. There's just too much to recommend it.
What do people hate about it? Seems folks've decided it's a premise rehash of the "Alien" series. I say... eh... sure, it's a kind of hurdle that the film would need to clear to hold our attentions. But I feel the film clears that particular hurdle nicely. It makes stylistic decisions that mark it as a clean, new approach to the whole sub-genre of "contact" films. At any rate, sizing it up against "Alien(s)" to me seems like a tepid basis for a negative evaluation.
What I appreciate is how enormously crafty the whole enterprise (of making this flick) is. The writing, pacing, editing, direction, everything comes together to make something... artful. And I *always* like to see artfulness in a movie. Not enough of that.
There may some divergence from this view on the basis that the film plods, or otherwise fritters itself away with a deficit of needed "action"; I say; the balance of action and interstitial quiet dramatics as the crew attempts to resolve its ever-morphing "issue" is perfect. One of the things I really loved about the flick was the writing; the dialog. I was surprised to find that the writing drew me in with its simplicity and plaintiveness. You really believe these are folks on a space mission--highly educated and trained, with distinguishing qualities of character--but ultimately just folks... you, me, anyone. Great, great writing, and seen too, too seldom in movies these days. Refreshing!
So all that's really left is an overview of the story management, and technique in general.
I'm thankful that the story had an decent ending. Ending a story well is like an end-game in chess; the hardest part of the game. I thought the flick ended a damn sight better than all too many others.
In terms of general technique, I found the sets, visuals. and effects in general to be fine and conducive to the suspension of my disbelief; I could "relax" and take in the harrowing narrative.
Will you like the movie? Depends. I think I pretty much outlined the issues, above. If attention to the kinds of details I mention above don't rate much in your enjoyment of movies, odds are you shouldn't waste your time with this one: You'll probably wind up resenting the wasted time, and chiming in with other naysayers in these User Comments. Have a look at some of them to see what I mean.