Approaching the Unknown (2016)

terrible... so disappointed.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Boring

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The overall pace of the film is slow burning and there isn't too much going on even at the climax of it all. The problems the character faces throughout the plot are downplayed but still have intensity which is good. It's a super chill, subtle and beautiful film about the thoughts and emotions of the first person to make a crazy journey through space. No over the top thrills, just a refreshingly realistic take on space travel that opens your heart. Very different to all the other space voyage films being put out by the big boys. I really enjoyed it, despite the fact that it feels like nothing has happened. Kind of relaxing!

One of my biggest regrets in life is that I didn't read the reviews until after having watched it. Besides the hard to ignore tech goofs, there is no story whatsoever. Literally nothing happens. And I mean nothing. From beginning to end the plot is flat.Don't watch this if you prefer an intriguing storyline. Or any story for that. Also don't watch it if you have any knowledge of space, basic survival or plain common sense.

Hard to know where to begin with this one. First, I suppose I'll tackle the mission design, which consists of two separate spacecraft, one containing a lone man and the other a single woman, headed to Mars a couple of weeks apart. Not sure why this would be. Every mission to Mars on the boards consists of at least six astronauts--per spacecraft. Maybe they thought they couldn't keep their hands off each other if they put them in the same spaceship?But then, this mission appears to have been conceived by a wanna-be astronaut who thought it would be a good idea to maroon himself in the desert as a motivational exercise to help him engineer some kind of machine that turns rock into water. If he doesn't die of thirst, first.Second. . . did you know there are mysterious and colorful nebulae floating somewhere between Earth and Mars? Neither did I. But apparently there are--and they look great!That's not nearly as unbelievable, though, as a space station located three weeks from Earth populated by a couple of moping astronauts. But apparently, our Mars-bound spacecraft has to stop there for "supplies"--an utterly idiotic notion for anyone familiar with physics.Did the writer/director of this movie do *any* research at all? I don't see how he could have. Scanning even the briefest article on colonizing Mars would have upended the premise of this film.Look, I'd be willing to forgive all the technical inaccuracies if this movie had a strong story or offered some kind of insight into human behavior, but about two-thirds of the way through it devolves into this rambling. . . I hesitate to call it "philosophical". . . meditation on. . . something. Most of what the protagonist spews out is just oddly random non sequiturs. There are tips of the hat in this film to The Martian, Silent Running, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. The reason this compares so poorly to any of those classics isn't the ultra-low budget of this film; it's the writing.Good performance by Mark Strong, but he just has so little to work with. At least he eventually gets to Mars. As a viewer, I felt as if I was left on the launch pad.

The film amounts to a one man monologue audio book. It is a character study of astronaut engineer William D. Stanaforth (Mark Strong) who has different ideas about life and seems to not like Earth. While the film is made to look scientifically credible, it is not, nor is it meant to be. It is about man and his relationship with the universe, atoms, and life as seen through the eyes of one man, who I thought was a bit messed up with his own ego and misguided determination. But hey, where would we be without guys like this? Safe and sound in our own homes? Of course if everything went well on the mission, your film would be boring...so they might just as well had everything go correctly. There was a message to the film, which I missed, most likely because my own ego and misguided determination wanted me to.Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.Note to self: If you got one guy in a script, give him personality.