The Cold Equations

TV Movie
1996
Not Rated
1h 32m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Lt. John Barton is sent on a special mission to deliver a special vaccine to a distant mining colony. He is infuriated to find Lee, a stowaway aboard his spacecraft. Barton has only enough f... Read allLt. John Barton is sent on a special mission to deliver a special vaccine to a distant mining colony. He is infuriated to find Lee, a stowaway aboard his spacecraft. Barton has only enough fuel to carry himself and his precious cargo, and Lee's added weight insures that they will... Read allLt. John Barton is sent on a special mission to deliver a special vaccine to a distant mining colony. He is infuriated to find Lee, a stowaway aboard his spacecraft. Barton has only enough fuel to carry himself and his precious cargo, and Lee's added weight insures that they will crash if she stays on board. They have gone too far to turn back, and Barton's superiors ... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.4/10

454

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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User reviews25

5.4454

Featured reviews

writingy

Disappointing to say the least...

As I watched this film of one of my favorite stories, I couldn't help but feel disappointed... particularly because I saw it dramatized so much more faithfully as an episode of the New Twilight Zone. In an attempt to make this story a full-length feature, they added elements that were not present in the original, and it has tainted an otherwise tight plot. If you really want to see this story on film, look for the New Twilight Zone... it is many times better and much closer to the themes and ideas of the original story.

Michael-11

Good central theme marred by unnecessary variations.

I haven't read the story of which other users are bemoaning the destruction so I didn't go into this feature with any preconceptions. I still didn't like it.

The central -- and undoubtedly short -- story in this movie is good: How do you cope with an inevitable death? How do you cope if you're the agent of that death? The recipient? When this movie followed that small, tight core it was good. When it strayed from that core, delving into "corporations (and/or bureaucracies) are evil" territory (with a smidgeon of a Messiah complex thrown in for no good reason), it was bad.

In the end I found the time I spent watching this movie to be wasted.

hcs3399

The endless debate over the sacrifice of one to save the many.

I thought this was a wonderful movie. Granted the effects are pretty bad and the cinematography was horrible, probably due to a very small budget. However, if you dig through all of that, you'll find a wonderful story line and amazing acting talent. Poppy Montgomery and Bill Campbell make the story come alive in this interesting tale of the human reaction to major life decisions when options run out(trapped in a spaceship). You just have to watch it to appreciate it. Onboard a mercy mission to a sick planet a pilot, played by Campbell, is forced to choose between a stowaway, Montgomery, and the medicine that will save the planet. I haven't read the book, but I will now to compare. But as far as the movie is concerned it rocked.

7Algernon

a taut, nicely paced sci fi/suspense tale, with a few uneven moments

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".

9mcgregorandrew

Low key, but very moving

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.