Intelligent SciFi

Rating: 9/10 (20 June 2019)

Since the beginning of "moving pictures" about 150 years ago by now, there have been precious few good hard Science Fiction stories on screen. I have most of the historical masterpieces and milestones in a small (!) DVD collection. This movie is absolutely in that elusive bunch. The characters are interesting and humanly real with their flaws and strengths. The story? It starts with what the previews reveal, so no surprise there, but things go in unexpected directions from there. It is about human nature, our possible reactions in a bad situation, and intelligent behaviour instead of shootem-up, which is not possible and would be insane in the given situation. There are (wonderfully refreshing!) no slimy aliens or zombies, and yet the tale keeps you watching and rooting for the people on board a ship beyond reach of any rescue. Despite the novel and slick design, for the most part they even got the current physics right and the imaginary future solutions for some space related problems are even being worked on now. Ok, so they goofed on a few details, especially the zero-G effect failure, but which movie has not had its flaws in physics? That is why there is one star missing in the rating, but otherwise kudos! This is a believable involuntary adventure story, that is well made, with very good actors, and visually appealing in a way that will stand the test of time. Cinematography is excellent and avoids "modern" camera styles that only annoy and hurt my eyes (no jiggle camera, no incessant zoomie-zoom, no wanna-be documentary "style', etc). Oh, and for special effects, they are of course there, are not obnoxiously in the foreground, but simply build the scenery. They are of a nature, where you forget about them and you just see the drama unfold instead, which is what GOOD use of FX is all about :) I totally love this masterpiece!