The Cold Equations

I was a fan of the original short story, having read it many years ago. This 'movie version' does go a little further with the story, however I think it stayed true to the original intent. I liked the acting and thought it was a worthwhile watch.

I must admit that it took me a while to warm to this film, but as the story unfolded, I found myself drawn more and more into the dilemmas it posed. My only real objection to the piece were those moments when the characters seemed to take a break from events to talk about themselves and where they had come from. At times the characters almost seemed to step out of the story, and talk about themselves as though nothing out of the ordinary were happening around them.

The film seems on more sure footing when it's dealing with the primary elements of the story, less so when it attempts to branch out into character development, or "backstory".

Definitely a B movie, but I was pleasantly surprised at how effectively it was done. I had read the short story and I thought this was better than the story. Nice spirit at the end without giving in and making everybody happy.

Nice to see a show that sticks pretty closely to the original story -- one of Ben Bova's discoveries when he took over at Analog from John Campbell, if I remember rightly.

However, I recall that the original story did not have the odd subplot about the corporation and the fungus quite the way the movie showed it. This seems to be a by-product of the times in which the film was made, when there had to be a "bad guy" to blame. (Other comments here are more harsh about the story treatment, perhaps with cause, but it's very difficult to turn most short stories into films -- take a look at "Enemy Mine" for example.)

The printed story in this case had more pathos, because of the implacability of the Cold Equations -- simple laws of physics and nature that none of the characters could overcome. No corporation needs to be blamed; the story tells clearly of the danger of innocence and naivety in the face of a universe which neither knows of nor heeds the actions of puny individual human beings.

When I first read the story, it was very reminiscent of Robert Heinlein (two of his lunar stories) and Arthur C. Clarke. Worth looking up -- I don't know if it's been anthologized, but the original was published in the early 70s in Analog.

The acting and special effects were decent, and it brings up that age old question of sacrificing one life for the lives of many. This type of story is similar to the short stories told on The Outer Limits.

7/10