Going on the strength of The Martian, between the book and the movie, and a slightly more suspect Artemis, also written by Andy Weir, I figured I would dig this. Sci Fi. Obviously Dire Consequences at Stake given the title. Plus, it doesn’t star Mott...Day..Mohn. Heh. Sorry Matt, Team America really did a number on ya there pal. Suck it up, you’re rich, beotch. This one is definitely along the same lines as The Martian, but with way less potatoes or Matt Damon.
Updated Environmental Trope Playbook #3: the Sun seems to be dying and we as a planetal species only have a relatively short amount of time to hopefully deal with it before inevitable freezings like meatsicles. Despite this set-up, it gets better from there. Or...does it? So that’s all I will say about the plot. Besides putting the “Not” in Astronaut, it’s an Armageddon-like story which starred famous Matt Damon co-hort, the totally-not-cardboard actor, Ben AFF-Lack. At least Ryan Gosling as Dr. Grace here has a good sense of humor about the whole thing. Mostly.
You kind of get a hint of Nolan’s Interstellar from this, but definitely is its own beast. I did not watch a trailer for this, I did not read any reviews beforehand, only knew there was generally a good reaction to the film. But, well, 2026 film, so silo of salt there maybe. So that’s where I approach you, as the DMR guy. If you don’t know anything about it going in, so much the better. If you know some stuff, well, it’s still a fun ride. It kind of has an 80s throw-back sci-fi AND actiony movie vibe but with modern aesthetics and a few genuine emotional beats, I won’t lie. It’s that good balance of drama, utter annihilation and...light-hearted dark-situationed humor. Kudos to Ryan Gosling, he’s not quite the retardedness of his character in The Nice Guys as his character is actually kind of a smart motherfucker here, but more The Fall Guy in dialing it back a little. If you consider that dialing it back a little. What I’m trying to say, he plays the part well here, given the circumstances, and a lot of the movie is him in a spaceship; that shit can get boring real fast if not handled correctly. So yeah, it’s a solid entry as a space adventure story, with math.
