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Looked this up after seeing a well-timed review column about it on a gaming/media news site when I needed some afternoon amusement.

If you go in expecting 90 minutes of relatively lighthearted, brain off but not insulting popcorn sci fi that doesn't overreach, you'll be entertained for said 90 minutes and leave satisfied. I'd equate it to comfort food at a chain restaurant.

Tropes? Sure, but not egregious. A few pop culture references sprinkled in? Yup, but not clubbing you over the head with them repeatedly. Just mildly wholesome B+ grade space opera with characters that didn't make me hate them, which so many productions seem to have these days in the interest of being "deep".

Honestly left me wishing it was a setup for yet another space survival crafting game, though we all know how movie tie-in games turn out. So I'll be content that it was definitely worth streaming on a quiet "what do I do with the next few hours" afternoon.

In short, it is a simple Sci-Fi flick with nothing extraordinary to offer. Don't expect anything on a grand or high scale; instead, keep your expectations at a bare average or medium level.

Typically, movies in this genre either feature intense scary elements or cutting-edge, next-level science fiction. However, this particular movie portrays space, uncharted territories, aliens, monsters, and futuristic gizmos on a moderate scale.

While the movie is entertaining, it's more of a onetime watch. It's certainly not something you'd revisit and is best suited for times when there's nothing else worth watching.

A mining spaceship gets hit by a meteorite and crashes onto an uncharted hostile planet. Lower level crew member Andy Ramirez (Anthony Ramos) and Naomi Calloway (Naomi Scott) are two survivors.

There is some action and some thrills. It's a creature feature. The creatures are good solid CGI creations. My biggest problem is that I don't really like Andy. He's a scared idiot for most of the movie. He gets a gun-like device, but nobody ever uses it for some reason. He's just not the brightest light in the room and that gets frustrating. It's a simple little sci-fi with creatures. It would be fine but Andy annoys me.

Distant or Long Distance (I still don't get why you would call a movie with two different titles) is an entertaining sci-fi movie, not the best, for sure not, but good enough to watch once. The cinematography wasn't bad at all. The main reason I started watching this one was to see Zachary Quinto, but he turned out to be just the voice of a computer, so that was a bit disappointing. The rest of the very small cast did well though, not Oscar winning performances but good enough to look professional. In short it's worth a watch, just don't expect too much comedy as it's also categorized. I laughed once and that's it.

I was expecting pretty low budget effects, but I have to say I thought the film looked good, aliens, atmosphere, everything. I genuinely enjoyed the movie.

The people who made this movie delivered an interesting final product and didn't try to reinvent the wheel, it's pure entertainment.

There's not much to the plot. The main character crash lands on an unknown planet and has to cross the hostile environment to reach another survivor. The main character doesn't have much at his disposal aside from a dwindling air supply and an AI assistant.

Overall, worth a watch. It's a nice movie. The low ratings are all misleading.

I like the actors in this. But Naomi Scott was almost completely wasted. Anthony Ramos is forced to carry most of the movie. And while he does an admirable job, it became kind of boring and linear.

The special effects are solid. The aliens are interesting and fairly scary. They could have fine-tuned them a bit, but overall they're pretty great. All the other effects are well-crafted and believable. So, if I can give props to anyone, it's the special effects team.

I can't say the same about the writers and editors. This was really poorly scripted and edited. There were giant plot holes, convenient things happen in the plot to overcome serious obstacles and some of the dialog was just terrible. The plot doesn't flow particularly well, either.

4/10. Watch it once. Enjoy the special effects.

"Long Distance," also known as "Distant" is a movie with a lot of potential but unfortunately fails to meet expectations. The quality of the film is inconsistent. While the beginning is strong and the ending is excellent, the lengthy and boring middle section falls far short of the quality one would expect from a good movie. The only consistently high-quality aspect throughout the film is its special effects.

The story follows an asteroid miner whose ship crash-lands on an uncharted planet. He discovers that he is not the only survivor and that the planet's harsh environment is inhabited by various aggressive alien species. With oxygen running low and accompanied by a malfunctioning AI, he embarks on a long journey to rescue another survivor trapped in her escape pod.

The influences of space sci-fi blockbusters and successful TV series are evident in this movie, with nods to "Prometheus," "Riddick," "Pitch Black," and "Lost in Space." However, this isn't necessarily a drawback, as the film also introduces some original ideas not seen in other space sci-fi stories. The storyline is simple but effective, the action scenes are captivating, and the cinematography is excellent.

Unfortunately, the acting is subpar, particularly in the middle section. The main character is portrayed as annoyingly foolish and overly hysterical, while the supporting characters don't fare much better. Additionally, I found myself disliking Naomi Scott's voice during her radio transmissions. It almost feels as though the middle section was directed by someone aiming to turn "Long Distance" into a low-grade comedy, in stark contrast to the rest of the film, which aspires to be a high-quality action sci-fi movie.

This is an utter waste of time. Very poor writing and narrative. A massive ship crash lands on a planet, makes a huge blast shockwave, still in very good condition with intact interior.. also the 3 legged aliens who breath from 97% CO2 atmosphere just breed inside the ship as soon as the ship crash lands.

The main character is really a child. Silly jokes. Not acting like someone who faced a major incident. The voices and dialogs are so annoying that I skipped sometimes. Specially the AI voice and the non-stop dialog with female.

Another thing is everything is burning with yellow flames in a 2% O2 atmosphere.

They could have done a much better job if the script proof-read with ChatGPT!! Giving 2 stars for the CGI. They look good!

The movie has a decent pace, keeps you in suspense and has a surprisingly light atmosphere, for a movie about monsters. There is even a bit of a family atmosphere and romance (5%), but it is mainly a movie about buddies (male-female relationships), with sharp language (sometimes funny) with horror elements, but the scenes are designed in such a way that even people who don't like horror movies can watch it. It is scary, but not too much, because the main characters support and motivate each other, often in a comical way. The plot is of a high standard, special effects too, there are some logical gaps, but they are either explained at the end of the movie or are not that important. Generally, I recommend it as an interesting, calming movie with horror elements :-)

I wanted so much to like this especially with two bona-fide big names leading the cast.

They should have left it as a played straight action scifi movie but they twiddled it to be a comedy and boy does the comedy fall on its ass!

What could have been a awesome scifi movie became a bit tedious and twee.

The special effects and the cinematography however we're excellent and that's why I gave it six stars in reality it could've been a 8 star movie.

Ramos and Scott play it out with a good on screen chemistry with Naomi Scott possibly one step away from superstardom given her recent turn in smile 2.

Distant is now a distant memory now unfortunately.

While in the Netherlands I had the pleasure of catching this movie, and after watching it I was surprised it has not gotten a broader release. I looked online and learned it had only a minimal release as of the time I wrote this review and unfortunately, Universal Pictures doesn't have it on its release schedule. It's sad because it was a breath of fresh air and well worth a watch if you can find it.

It started with a great opening that hooked me right away. I really enjoyed the "AI" or computer interaction with the main character from the very beginning. It had a sort of detached caring combined with a lack of empathy, which made for a hilarious combo. I think it may be the fastest I've ever laughed after starting a movie. The sarcasm was epic and I loved it.

The movie progressed nicely and held my interest throughout. It's not breaking any new ground with regard to the general plot line, but the execution was funny and had enough action to maintain a good pace. I would like to see more movies like this. If you like sci-fi comedy with action, you should enjoy this one enough.

Not funny, they are trying but just makes it Awkward and it feels dumb, and they just had to have alot of those stupid moments with mistakes that makes u facepalm while watching it, like in movies when u need to be quiet when suddenly discovering a dangerous monster and the character either stumbles over a object making alot of noise or cant help but to scream when needing to not make a sound... this movie has lots of stuff like that, ive always wondered why they insist on having things like that in alot of movies. When it would actually make a pretty good movie if they didnt have those super stupid moments. And this movie has alot of them... like being chased just to stop to say u are there! When u have only started to get close to the destination and still have to start running again cuz the monsters caught up cuz u stopped just to say u are there when u werent... o gosh... sure this might be the comical part of the movie but it just comes out as annoying and stupid and frustrating to me and i cant stand it in the way it is portrayed... just finished it cuz i love alien movies and wanted to see the end of it.

In a way this movie is like a slightly stretched out sci-novel. Its a small story but packaged well. The production is very good, the acting is totally fine, the cgi not bad at all. Don't expect an original epic, but 2 hours of pretty good sci-fi. Interestingly enough, I find that in this age of Netflix bloat and a lack of originality this movie still manages to stand out and not wanting me to star scrolling on my phone like so many other movies and series of today does, and that's maybe the best rating a movie today can get. I would perhaps not recommend paying for a cinema seat and watching it with friends or a date, but on a streaming service, definitely worth it.

But I don't see my three stars edging up. I find myself wasting further time on this video, no it is not a movie, trying to identify some redeeming features. Maybe there's some better "CGI" later on, but I started to be sceptical from scene one where we see one boulder for no apparent reason other than the fact it appears to want to rotate faster than anyboulder else and push its siblings around in order to get to the big fat metal thing that's not where it was supposed to be. Now, it may be we learn later that this community of boulders is sentient and that's a sheepdog rock protecting its flock, that'd make an interesting plot twist, but I don't think so. Because, we're rapidly plunged into some dialogue which is simplistic and clearly supposed to be err... funny Naive, literal AI's were a tired trope several decades ago. Who writes this stuff anyway.

Spaceship was cool tho', pity they decided to crash it into the planet. Was that a spoiler? Nah, this video was spoiled long before they started filming it.

Space is hostile. But sometimes the greatest danger is a script with weak signal. Long Distance knows the route it's taking: hostile planet, lurking creatures, suits cracking at the worst possible moment. The problem? Between one good moment and the next, the ship seems to be on autopilot - and so does the film.

After a meteor shower obliterates the mothership, three crew members survive in escape pods and crash-land on a rocky, fog-shrouded, merciless planet - though visually competent. The arid setting works, as do the high-tech suits and creature designs: three-legged spiders with crab tails, fireflies that paint the visor red, and a worm straight out of Tremors nightmares. The production delivers - and it might be the film's strongest asset.

What could have been an intense group survival journey gets reduced to a two-person connection. Andy Ramirez, still processing generic grief (wife and child), treks across the planet to find Naomi Calloway, injured and trapped in her pod, communicating only via radio. Their dynamic is likable but lacks spark. With only two survivors on-screen, the film misses the chance to explore tenser group dynamics - the kind that make survival feel heavy.

Humor comes partly from the suit's AI, L. E. O. N. A. R. D. - a weary GPS with a distinctive tone the characters themselves comment on. It's not laugh-out-loud funny but has its charm, especially when the end credits reveal the source of that insistent sound: Ja Rule's Mesmerize. The joke lands more in repetition than dialogue, serving as comic relief that sometimes amuses, sometimes tires - but never undermines the planet's atmosphere or the sense of danger.

Even with diluted pacing, the film has standout moments. Andy getting swallowed by a worm and escaping using the suit's defibrillator is one. The climax, meanwhile, flirts with ingenuity: Naomi sprints with suit lights flashing, luring the giant spider toward a suspended pod - which plummets and crushes it. It's visually efficient, well-executed, and proof the film knows what to do when it takes risks.

In the end, Long Distance isn't a disaster - it's a good idea orbiting something better. It has strong scenes, intriguing creatures, and a planet that deserved more. But as the title suggests, it lacks closeness. And when the pod finally crashes, the impact is just enough to entertain - never to leave a mark.

It's like they had a great idea for a great sci-fi, but realize they have no money. So it end up with a guy talking to a radio the whole movie. It is utterly infuriatingly annoying. Reminds me of that other movie with JLo stuck in a robot suit.

This movie is literally just a guy talking on a radio with this girl. 1 hour and 30 mins of this with no point, no purpose, and they're not even interesting people. Is this comedy? How is this comedy? So boring... an insult to intelligence.

I wish people would stop wasting people's time. If you don't have the budget, shelve it and try again later. Otherwise I rather read a good book.

3/10.

I thought this was a decent enough movie - and actually one of the better attempts I've come across at blending comedy with science fiction. Usually, when that's tried, the comedy takes over - and not for the better. Such movies usually descend into silliness more than anything, with the sci fi element being used only to push forward the comedy. But the two seemed well blended here. The comedy was amusing but not over the top and allowed the movie to be a suspenseful enough adventure/creature feature at the same time.

Most of the comedy was provided by LEONARD - the personal AI system built into Andy's suit. Andy was on a mining ship heading to a distant world when the ship was hit by an asteroid, causing all the cryo-sleep pods, where the crew was housed for the journey, to eject and crash land on a strange alien world. Andy is basically alone and is quickly running out of oxygen. The rest of the crew perished, but he discovers Dwayne (who doesn't last long) and he then discovers through comms that Naomi is trapped in a pod and he sets out to find her and save her, having to get through terrain populated by a variety of hostile critters - the most frightening being sort of giant spiders. The CGI used for the creatures was actually pretty good, and there were plenty of suspenseful moments, although at times it became perhaps a bit slow going as Andy faced more or less the same circumstances over and over.

Anthony Ramos was pretty good as Andy and, as I mentioned, his ongoing exchanges with LEONARD (voiced by Zachary Quinto) provided a few laughs that didn't detract from the tension of the story. Naomi Scott was also pretty good as Naomi.

Overall I liked it. It's not likely to win awards or be a movie you'll want to watch over and over again - but it's a fun single watch. (6/10)