La astronauta

After watching The Astronaut, it feels as though writer/director Jess Varley saw Dark Skies, District 9 and Close Encounters and thought 'what would happen if I mashed those together on a shoe-string budget?' The result - a largely predictable, run of the mill haunted house film about aliens, with some minor body horror thrown in for good measure.

Sam (Kate Mara) has just returned from a mission in space, and has been requested to undergo daily medical and fitness tests to determine if everything is okay. What was the mission? You'll find out later. Sam begins to experience the kind of things astronauts allegedly might after returning to earth - dizziness; tinnitus; hallucinations; strange marks on her body. Totally normal, right? Right?

On entry into Earth's atmosphere, something slammed into Sam's pod. Despite those bizarre circumstances, Sam's (adoptive) father, General Harris (Laurence Fishburne), pulled strings to have her stay at an idyllic location in the middle of nowhere. Sam's lengthy time away has put a strain on the relationship she has with her husband Mark (Gabriel Luna) and daughter Izzy (Scarlett Holmes). This isn't helped by her desire to go on another mission, but when her fellow astronaut Val (Macy Gray), tells her to keep any nasty symptoms on the downlow, else risk not going into space again, Sam has a choice to make - admit that things are slowly getting worse, or stay silent.

The film deserves kudos for the ending, which offers a unique twist that was genuinely welcoming. Despite that, a majority of the film plays like a list of horror house tropes. Spooky sounds; check. Shadows moving in the background; check. Objects moving on their own; check. Other characters don't believe the victim; check.

We've seen it done a hundred times before. It might have been nice to see things that were a bit more...alien. During the final credits, we are treated to some amazing otherworldly imagery, and I found myself wishing more of THAT was actually IN the film.

Additionally, for the most part, the aliens are continuously concealed. The darkness of night very often obscures them, though there are sequences that are so dark, you cannot see anything at all. This is frustrating when Sam is frightened of something, and yet we cannot see it. However, I do need to congratulate the film on the effects, which are not half bad (when we have the chance to appreciate them).

This film is a Kate Mara vehicle, and she does a good job holding it together, but let's be honest - she doesn't have a lot to work with. She masterfully conveys fear, though when it comes to her family, the script is lacking with things to do, and the same could be said for her as a person. What does she like to do when she's not in space? Why did she become an astronaut? How did she meet her husband? What we know about Sam could be summed up in one sentence, which isn't ideal when we're going to be spending almost every scene with her.

Moreover, Gabriel Luna in some ways plays the heart of the film, and he does a good job showing he cares, but the limited screen time doesn't give him a lot of opportunities. Lastly, the always entertaining Laurence Fishburne likewise excels in a supporting role as an authority figure. That said, he also has very little to do here, which is a real shame.

Moving on, the soundtrack does evoke themes of the unknown, though it has the annoying habit of playing during sequences when the film wants us to focus on other sound effects (example, generic alien noises). During these scenes, the film can't really have its cake and eat it. It may have been better to let the diegetic sound play on its own.

The film also has a habit of copying from other movies. What's that saying - flattery is the highest form of praise? Well, in that case, this feature is praising A LOT of movies. There are sequences of flashing rainbow-coloured lights (Close Encounters anybody), and there is a kitchen scene that is ripped right out of Jurassic Park. These are two examples, but believe me, I could go on.

The movie does have themes on acceptance and humanity, which are nicely executed, but don't hold the depth they otherwise could. And that last part - about a lack of depth - really sums up the whole experience. The movie understands how to build tension and how to craft a mystery, but there was so much room for more. This is a 90-minute movie (it did feel shorter though, which is a compliment of sorts), that I think could have been longer to give the characters, themes and mystery room to grow.

I could see myself watching it again (it's Kate Mara and Laurence Fishburne; who doesn't like them?), but the movie also convinced me to go watch every other film that inspired it; films that better demonstrate how to craft a mysterious alien thriller.

The idea of the twist was great; execution was horrible. This movie had so much potential to be a real hit. I agree with some; it started off somewhat good, but I don't know; it just went left and never came back. They tried they really did but the ending was such a disappointment. This is one of those movies that should be 2hrs+ long.

"The Astronaut" starts off as a decent, if unremarkable, sci-fi thriller/horror-ish. For most of its runtime, it's serviceable - not bad, not great - just a middle-of-the-road space story that keeps you watching without ever truly exciting you. The pacing is steady, the visuals are fine, and the performances - especially from a seasoned cast - hold things together enough to make it feel watchable.

But then come the final 20 minutes, and that's where it all falls apart. What could have been an average yet satisfying film nosedives into confusion and poor execution. The script suddenly collapses under its own ambition, turning what was once tolerable into something frustratingly bad. The dialogue becomes clunky, the tone shifts awkwardly, and even the lead actor - usually reliable - feels lost in a sea of incoherence.

It almost feels like the filmmakers tried to pull off a reverse ET with a sprinkle of horror or mystery, but whatever they were aiming for missed the mark completely. By the end, "The Astronaut" is just disappointing. A real shame, considering how decent the journey started.

Edit: If anyone is getting paid, it's people giving this a rating over 5/10 stars and down voting critical reviews. My review is honest and somehow the next day my review has multiple down votes. I watch 1000s of movies. I rated this fairly. There's no way out of all movies ever made, this is above a 5/10. I'm being generous. Also, look at the count. How many people have reviewed this. That says more than the actual reviews. NOBODY is watching it or even cares to review it.

I just read another review, sorry but nobody is paying people to give this movie a bad review.

The actors did a great job.

I was actually into the movie until the final act. The other reviewers are spot on. Not sure what the writers were thinking. Feels like they ran out of time or just didn't care about the end.

The CGI looks like a low budget film from 25 years ago. It would've been better if they left out the majority of it.

Everything was great until the final act.

I understand what the filmmaker is trying to do. There are two problems. The third act twist comes a bit out of nowhere and it drags some baggage with it that makes following the story very jarring. The other problem is that there aren't any breadcrumbs to help the twist snap into place. It really ends up feeling like no thought was put into the whole story. The more you think about it the less sense it makes. That is the problem with the movie. There is a right way and a wrong way to tell this story. It definitely felt like they chose the wrong way.