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So the thing is, I was super into this movie. It has a bunch of stuff I like: space, survival, problem solving, and a grumpy older guy finding himself having to take care of a kid. Because I was so into it, I set myself up. I was deeply disappointed by the ending, which left me feeling sad and angry.
It's a sad but intriguing premise: a mysterious catastrophe has occurred, rendering the Earth's atmosphere poisonous. A space ship, Aether, that has been on a mission to explore a habitable moon of Jupiter is on its way back, and must be warned away before landing on Earth.
George Clooney plays a astronomer named Augustine who remains behind at an Arctic station while others evacuate. He's hoping to transmit a vital message to the Aether. While living alone on this station, he encounters a kid who was left behind during the chaotic evacuation. Her name is Iris, and she doesn't speak.
Augustine discovers that the antennae isn't powerful enough: he and Iris must travel further North through dangerous Arctic conditions in order to reach another station.
Meanwhile on the Aether, the crew of five are living their lives, looking forward to returning home. One crew member is pregnant. They have to deal with various problems, mainly debris hitting their ship. The Aether itself is beautiful, with organic-looking supports on the bulkheads, as if a web-spinning spider was among the engineers.
The story progresses somewhat slowly, but I found it absolutely gripping. All the characters are hovering on the edge of survival.
Naturally, Augustine manages to transmit the message in time, and help the crew decide on a flight path that will send them back to the habitable planet they came from. Here is where the story starts to fall apart.
( Read more... )
It's a sad but intriguing premise: a mysterious catastrophe has occurred, rendering the Earth's atmosphere poisonous. A space ship, Aether, that has been on a mission to explore a habitable moon of Jupiter is on its way back, and must be warned away before landing on Earth.
George Clooney plays a astronomer named Augustine who remains behind at an Arctic station while others evacuate. He's hoping to transmit a vital message to the Aether. While living alone on this station, he encounters a kid who was left behind during the chaotic evacuation. Her name is Iris, and she doesn't speak.
Augustine discovers that the antennae isn't powerful enough: he and Iris must travel further North through dangerous Arctic conditions in order to reach another station.
Meanwhile on the Aether, the crew of five are living their lives, looking forward to returning home. One crew member is pregnant. They have to deal with various problems, mainly debris hitting their ship. The Aether itself is beautiful, with organic-looking supports on the bulkheads, as if a web-spinning spider was among the engineers.
The story progresses somewhat slowly, but I found it absolutely gripping. All the characters are hovering on the edge of survival.
Naturally, Augustine manages to transmit the message in time, and help the crew decide on a flight path that will send them back to the habitable planet they came from. Here is where the story starts to fall apart.
( Read more... )
