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

455

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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User reviews25

5.4455

Featured reviews

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".

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.

4dusty-h

Just put her out!

I'm halfway through this movie, and I'm chanting 'Put Her Out' - 'Put Her Out' - 'Put Her Out'. This woman's character has more attitude that is ill placed for a stowaway... Would've made for a better, shorter movie. The extended blackouts between scenes were annoying also, I thought my TV turned off on the first one. The acting is above par for a B movie, but still struggled with this movie.

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.

7jelly300

Good short story.

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