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This has to be like the fourth or fifth movie featuring astronauts on a distant mission, but being about the psychological state of the lead character, in the last few years. This things are usually giving themselves away immediately: artificial gravity, LED light everywhere, big screens, big spaces, lectures for children about the Solar System given to trained astronauts, things unravelling or not making sense, but always, always someone obsessively thinking about people in their past: lovers, children, parents. Because it makes perfect sense for a person to go through years of rigorous training to perform a specific mission and then, when they get the job, out of a lot of hard working and highly motivated candidates, they spend it regretting things and thinking about the past. And they were the best candidate out of them all!

What's the point?! Who watched these and then said "yes, that's exactly what I needed! A psychological drama, but set in space, although nothing spacy really happens!"? Science fiction folk don't care about the drama of it, they want the action and the science and the gadgets and maybe to feel that there is more to life than just the daily whining of people. And drama people want some sort of highly emotional story involving multiple people, but somehow resembling their life, not some person in a small space having a fit. What a completely useless film!

So, yeah, let's call this small-space-fiction. And the writer is Nathan Parker, of Moon fame! He did one good film about a guy alone on a space station 15 years ago and thought to remake it, but without a story?

Bottom line: the story is so flimsy that I can't talk about it without spoiling it. All I can say is that this is not science fiction, because there is no science, and one can hardly call it fiction, because it doesn't have the coherence of fiction. It's like a nightmare that makes no sense and you barely remember when you wake up from it. The only positive thing is that it was decently acted.

Slingshot is primarily a psychological drama, which happens to be set in a Science Fiction universe. But anyone going to this movie hoping for a space actioner or some space opera will leave very disappointed.

In a twisty turny narrative that could have been shortened by 15 or 20 minutes without losing any impact, the three lead actors give outstanding performances, but there is a lot of repetition, and the middle third of the film really drags.

At the same time, it certainly keeps you thinking, and the ending is extremely gripping and tense.

This is not a film at the same level as Space Odyssey, Or Solaris. But if you have a brain and you want to be provoked into thinking about the nature of love and humanity faced by existential crises this is not a bad movie at all.

There's a moment right at the end that would have elevated this film to something really worth recommending. Some movies greatly benefit from a conclusion open to interpretation. This is one of them. It gave me the same feeling I had all those years ago watching Total Recall. But they didn't do that here. The final scene is very clear and I think that was a poor choice. Unless the focus is commentary on human behavior, in which case it makes sense. Still, the alternative would have been spectacular.

How cool is Laurence Fishburne? He's been one of my favorite actors since Event Horizon + The Matrix, and in each project following that he never misses. Role of the captain he plays is pretty much perfect. Even when the twists, turns and second-guessing begins, it still fits whatever outcome you may have in mind. That kind of presence and versatility is pure talent, and I never get tired of seeing it. Everybody else does a great job in their respective roles, but Morpheus steals the show.

They likely could have removed 15 minutes and the film would have been better for it. You can definitely feel some drag. While this doesn't outright ruin anything, I probably would have rated it higher otherwise.

The best part of this movie is the ending, which will deceive the viewer several times. Laurence Fishburne played his role, as always, perfectly. Casey Affleck did well, but I was never impressed by his performance, although this is just my personal subjective judgment. Yes, it's not easy to watch this movie to the end, and this is its main disadvantage, it was especially hard for me to watch Affleck's caramel flashbacks, but I still watched this movie - the film turned out to be quite good. Given the complexity of the plot and ambiguous characters, it is impossible not to mention the merits of the director. Visual style, musical accompaniment - all this works to create a unique closed atmosphere. The film may not become a cult classic, but it definitely deserves the attention of those who like thoughtful and ambiguous stories.

And by another one, I mean yet another arthouse psychological thriller sci-fi. Again. What ever happened to the good old Sci-fi action survival thriller where nobody is "wrestling with the ghosts of their past", struggling with their sanity, or wondering what is real or not...blah blah. Seems like the vast majority of Sci-fi is that BS, not anything really interesting or entertaining anymore. Some of them had the potential to become great movies, but were ruined by the writing and the direction... and the plot, and the story...etc.

Please.... for the love of GOD, can someone make Sci-fi great again??

Mindgames and science fiction have traditionally gone together well. This one played a lot of mind games and it was done on a lower budget, I expect.

Pure psychological science-fiction with several twists at the end. It was one of those films that you really didn't know where it was going until it got there. I liked how it flipped back and forth between the past and the current deep space expedition. It helped put things in context.

Affleck and Fishbourne played their roles to the tee. At a certain point it felt redundant but I guess it was not unexpected given the outcome.

In a year or so it will probably get relegated to endless repeats on one of the streaming film channels.

I love outer space movies, from Alien and Star Wars to Ad Astra and Interstellar. So naturally, I gave this one a chance. Big mistake

The movie is a slog. There are no likable characters. Casey Affleck's is supposed to be our hero, but he's so weak and nondescript. I actually found myself liking Lawrence Fishburne's character the most. Maybe they should've revised the movie and made him the hero.

The movie has a twist that is so obvious and cliche that I actually couldn't believe they truly went in that direction. I also don't know what the point of their mission is too: the movie isn't clear about this detail. Exactly why are they going to Titan? Who knows

And most of all - the nonstop flashbacks to Casey Affleck and that girl are so annoying and dull. They completely break up the flow and pacing of the movie. When you want to see more of Affleck and Fishburne, you end up having to sit through meaningless scenes involving Affleck and his lover. I grew restless more than once.

Just a bad movie. I'm glad this movie bombed at the box office.

I FELT the movie could have been 10-15 minutes shorter while accomplishing the goal and fulfilling the story, about 2 minutes before the ending came about.

WHEN I see a movie and want to talk to my wife about it, then the movie did a thing right. I am the guy people look to, 20 minutes in and say " You know who did it/what happened/Whose next...don't ya?" And, to be fair, the answer is YES more than NO. Writing in today's scape is regurgitated. No slight to writers and directors , as there are so few UNIQUE and NEW ideas, so you have to work with what can be done.

The writing done here and the acting were ..as perfect as I think can be done in today's movies. With so many films being reboot, redone, reworked, and rereleased , to find a movie where the writer sat back and so he was going to make sure everyone had all they needed...and still get it wrong...and ME being wrong, was a SHEER thrill.

THIS movie, as slow and inverted as it comes off, GIVES entertainment, like the drop of a roller coaster. You are not paying for the climb, or the trip back to the station, but the DROP and the CORKSCREW. Like that, you know something is coming, you know when it is coming, and then it comes. AS you get older the DROP is far less as exciting, but you smile for the grandkids. This movie gives that DROP feeling back on a psychological " I was wrong" level, that gives pure pleasure.

7/10 FOR the plot, delivery, the LULL, and the ending. Sans 3 for making me feel it was boring for an hour.

Watch it and you are welcome.

I saw Slingshot early as part of AMC's Screen Unseen. As a self-proclaimed sci-fi junkie, I approved of the selection. Knowing zero about the movie beforehand made the experience even better. Everything was set up for success.

Yet success was not achieved. And it's pretty clear why. There isn't nearly enough substance for a full length movie. Very little happens, making the viewing experience fairly boring. I watched the trailer afterwards and it's more exciting than anything in the movie.

The best part is the cast with good performances all around. And there are some interesting story elements that come into play late. But by that point I was mostly checked out.

If you feel underwhelmed like I did, try Sunshine (2007) for a significantly better experience. More exciting and a cast that dwarfs that of Slingshot.

(1 viewing, early screening AMC Screen Unseen 8/26/2024)

I expected this to be a typical b space movie with jump scares based on the trailer. I didn't have any expectations going into this movie. I was just in the mood for a space movie and I was prepared not to make it through the movie.

I think it does a good job of showing the possible effects of that scenario on the mind.

It also had some emotional stuff that helped the story stick in mind.

There's a twist, and then another twist at the end. If you've watched as much Sci-Fi as me, you'll probably predict the ending.

I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, and it wasn't unique, but it worked for me. As for whether I'd recommend it to others, I say watch until you get bored, because, as you can see, many other reviews don't agree with me.

The script lacks in the science and engineering department, and the characters seem incompetent.

Within the first 20 minutes, we already know the main protagonist is an unreliable narrator who exudes whatever the opposite of confidence and leadership is. His crewmate is similarly unreliable, talking behind the captains back. The captain calls the spaceship an 'aircraft' and handwave-explains 'fatigue and buckling' despite there being no explanation for what would cause cyclic stresses on the structure. We also got in the first 30 minutes that their mission is to reach Titan's methane, to make fuel, to somehow solve climate change. It all just sounds like mumbo-jumbo written by an arts student.

You need something like Andy Weir's 'The Martian' or the upcoming Project Hail Mary adaption; i.e. The best-of-the-best astronauts being actually believable world-class highly trained and skilled experts and problem-solvers. The physics doesn't have to be 100% in a sci-fi (Interstellar worked pretty well throughout bar that one line about love transcending space and time), but for any deviations the characters have to 100% support the narrative for it to be believed by the audience. These astronauts are immediately whispering to each other about mutiny from the start... and keep forgetting that there's audiovideo recording in each room allowing the captain to hear the sceme. I can't believe that these characters are actually astronauts.

Please please please stop with this artificially induced drama hinging on main characters being incompetent, keeping secrets from each other, or scheming against each other for no good reaon. Stop with the secrets which the 3rd party witnesses... It's like where movies have 2 people talk or kiss, for the 3rd jealous person to spot it or to get the wrong impression. It's a frustrating cliche. If the drama would be resolved by one character speaking one sentence to another character, it's weak writing.

With Insterstellar, I felt awe that made my arm hairs stand on end. With Slingshot I just feel frustrated and claustrophobic. Slingshot is weak writing.

No pun intended - the movie is quite ... well if you have claustrophobia ... you may have issues watching it. But even though the space out there seems endless, this is not the first science ficiton movie that will make you squirm ... the effects help with that too of course.

Good actors involved - and I reckon even if you can guess the twist(s) the movie is holding back on and for you, you will be able to enjoy the whole experience. Enjoy is something that I wouldn't say is a feeling the crew of the ship is feeling ... even less so with the stuff that is used (including those dreams) ... and I try to stay vague but also specific with this! If you have seen the movie you'll understand how that works and what I (or we) mean ... though mostly I ... no I of the tiger (or pun intended).

Great ending - though it may have ended a bit earlier and be more .. let's call it open ...

There's nothing we haven't seen before in Slingshot from the setting to the twist however the main cast work well together. Casey Affleck and Laurence Fishbourne are brilliant actors and their tense interactions throughout carry the film for my tastes. The setting is somewhat bleak and plot feels disjointed though perhaps that's intentional in order to reflect Affleck characters mental state.

Beyond the story one thing truly of note is the music. I'd not heard of the performer before but I had to watch to the end of the credits to discover Katy Hurt whose song is used throughout and provides a stark contrast to the fraying crew. Well worthy checking out!

Science fiction is my first love so I have to admit I got pretty excited when I first discovered this film but after I hit the launch button I was disappointed that it was unable to reach orbit. The most generous thing I can say about it is it has great sets and Good actors. Looks kinda like a film due to a efforts of a good D. O. P. But functions more like a cure for insomnia due to derivative story we all know well. I Can't help but feel the script should of stayed in deep hibernation along with the characters despite the efforts of a valiant cast fighting to bring them to life. Half asleep with one eye open I was still able to sniff out where this was going. Is this one of those tax write off projects I've heard about? I can only bring myself to three stars, one for the sets, one for the D. O. P., and one for managing to convince such a good cast to board a spaceship heading nowhere.

The movie is a low budget production relying on the skills of the actors and the cast is doing a fine job. Most of the it relies heavily on CGI background tech using green screens to create the illusion of a spacecraft. The objective is space exploration with the goal to secure scarce resources for humanity. Since most planets orbiting sun are out of reach based on our understanding of jet propulsion technology a new mission takes place.

Kudos to the actors, especially Lawrence Fishburne. The way the movie concludes is well done. People may think, why did it wrap up abruptly, but the plot should hint why that's the case.

People who look for sci-fi are usually smarter than most. Yet dum people don't know this, and keep making dum choices in writing, directing and acting.

Flaws in this movie: 1) Ship's operational system that doesn't work properly.

2) Astronauts that don't know everything about their ship.

3) A huge ship with only 3 astronauts.

4) Astronauts that have been extensively tested and vetted by nasa, and yet are very afraid of death and emotionally unstable, instead of accepting the huge possibility of them dying in a mission.

5) a major operation with very little backup resources.

6) astronaut brings alcohol and a gun on board.

7) Nasa relying the mission on a drug that hasn't been tested on their astronauts.

Slingshot is a movie that falls into obscurity due to it mostly feeling like a bare minimum psychological thriller, but it's later half overcomes it's blandness in offering many twists and turns.

The cast all do a decent job, with Casey Affleck offering a dreary, sleepy performance that works well enough in context of the movie. Laurence Fishburne and Tomer Capone offer individually interesting performances as the other crew members too. The story and feelings of desperation and fear paired with it were compelling enough, with its strongest points being the first and third acts. And the revelations, twists, and turns all keep you guessing by the film's conclusion.

However, this movie's second act drags. There's a repetitiveness in the tension that works until it's cut off or undermined by continuous flashbacks which, although add context, take away from the overall effectiveness. The set design is nice and clean, but not particularly interesting. There are many aspects to the story, plots, and world building that feel generic due to how many times they've been done. And the flashbacks themselves are a predictable and uninteresting sub-plot.

In conclusion, Slingshot is as uninspired as it is effective in its primary goal of delivering ratcheting tension, keeping you guessing in its morally conflicting story.

I went in without any knowledge or info beforehand.

Seeing Laurence Fishbourne's starring I thought it be good.

But I was very wrong, his acting talents was wasted on this movie.

This movie tagline is about 3 people on an mission to "slingshot" using jupiter's gravity towards the saturn's moon titan.

Which is misleading!

What it's really about = cam-up close & personal with John "casey affleck" waking up from hibernation, experiencing side effects from the hibernation drug, mumbles incoherently groggy/wheezing voice.

Very annoying to listen to & make sense of, and his groggy actions/behavior frustrating to sit out.

It was like watching an drunk or drug junkie, passing for astronaut.

Performs routine crew tasks for few mins & goes into hibernation again.

And each time the effects gets worse & tensions builds with the other 2 crew members. That's it, that's the real plot!

Laurence fishbourne plays the captain, his acting was good and so was his delivery in speech, the other actors were passable. But casey's performance totally annoying.

I'm sure many sci fi action fans would be walking out fast or had already skipped this movie.

The entire movie was a waste of time. I sat out cause I paid for it.

The slingshot is only like 60sec of this 100min movie. And approx 70% of screen time is spent on flashbacks of his relationship, from their first meeting till break up.

Sidenote: relationship/attraction not plausible/realistic, mismatch of character personalities

This is no psychological thriller IMHO, no suspense at all.

Just an display of acting groggy & whine for 100mins.

And the director also had the audacity to lame plot-twist the ending, suggesting whether any of it was real or imagined due to hibernation drug.

Even this was entirely predictable, with my very reserved mother in her 60's remarking "Ah come-on! Lame!"

As an sci fi movie lover this flick was lame & a waste of time.

I think an die hard sci-fi fan would remark much worse things than my mother did lol

Don't watch this in cinema wasting your time & money.

If you are still curious, watch it for free somewhere. Save your money.

I never say this, but this one is an deserved flop.

I saw some reviews comparing this to "Solaris" but this trash doesn't compare against that.

"Moon" which was an slow paced psychological thriller too, is an much better comparison, but was also much better executed & things happening.

As for proper psychological space thriller "Pandorum" is an good example.

But this trash "Slingshot" doesn't come anywhere close, like I said no suspense at all.

Hope this helps to inform you. Cheers & Be well.

It's been a long time waiting for a good space movie, plus a layered twist and an unusual ending and I guessed the ending wrong :D . We are taken as the title says by a catapult, thrown here and there, making us confused and wondering which is right. This is how people see things when they are drunk, stressed, hallucinating. For lovers of space Sci-Fi movies and plus like Twist plot movies, watch it, you won't regret it. The ending is beyond reason. Haha. For those who gave a bad rating, I think they like love drama movies or like movies with happy endings, movies with ordinary endings that are easy to guess.

First off, I have to say that the film managed to surprise me because I was expecting a pretty bad production... Because 2024 continues to be a year where major studios market bad films with big actors and big directors...

"An astronaut on a potentially doomed mission to Saturn's moon Titan struggles to maintain his grip on reality."

The film, with its back-and-forth narrative reminiscent of "Solaris" (not the 1972 version, but more like the 2002 one), is directed by Mikael Håfström, who had already shown his inclination towards this style of storytelling in his earlier film "1408" (2007), an adaptation of Stephen King's short story of the same name, which brought him recognition from a wider audience.

Casey Affleck and Laurence Fishburne have given their best, and I think they've delivered a performance that's adequate for this middling film and doesn't deserve the harsh criticism it has received.

One wishes to see more of space in this film, which was entirely shot in a studio...

The film's score is composed by Lorne Balfe, and to give credit where it's due, the music is even better than the film itself.

At the end of the day, we, as fans of science fiction and horror cinema, are certain that as of 2024, we won't be getting any more masterpieces, but at least we want films that are decent. In this context, "Slingshot" is a film that "does the job."

I recommend this for anyone who loves horror/thriller or any movie which provides a wild ride and blows your mind at the end. Your mind will be blown. Then you will say thank you and walk out of that theater with satisfaction. I have not been as satisfied with the ending of a movie in a while as I was with this movie. Basically, what you'll think is, wow I did not see that coming at all, and then you'll think, oh, well that makes sense too, and then you're mind will be thrown on top of itself and you'll think "ohhh.... My..... goodness...." They were not kidding when they said this was a movie that would give you a unique experience.