Spoiler Alert!!! Maybe it is just me. I guess I wanted some great mystery to be unraveled or for the flick to take on some great question about the universe. The movie is big on special effects. The space elevator at the beginning of the film was just awesome! Humankind has evolved to having a city on the moon and an outpost at Mars. In addition Humans have explored much of the solar system except for the outer planets. I guess it is nice to be optimistic and think we would be able to achieve such things. But the movie is not about that at all. It is really about family relationships. I guess Brad is kind of being public about his issues after his divorce. The movie focuses on Brad's character and the relationship or lack thereof with his father, Tommy Lee Jones. The great mystery about Jones' mission isn't a mystery at all. And slowly as the movie builds you see that and it is disappointing. Supposedly Jones take a crew to the outer solar system to began surveying nearby planets for life. But something goes horribly wrong. But again, as the movie progresses, you began to learn this is not the point of the film at all. The plot boils down to being about a man who became too obsessed with career, his job and missions. And totally neglected paying attention to the most important thing in human life, relationships. Of course, in the void of space, he goes insane.
When you look at the movie in this light, the writing is great, the dialogue is awesome, the pace is excellent. But I was geared up for some sci-fi flick. And this was not it. Don't get me wrong. There is some action. Brad has to find a way to get to the outside solar system to find his father. But are some fight scenes. Apparently, there are still some parts of Earth that are at war. There is even a action chase sequence on the lunar surface. But the movie's primary focus is just about issues between a father and his son. I guess Brad was trying to reach out to his son Maddox with this movie. He does give one of his best performances.
Three and a half out of four.
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