Spaceman – Movie Review
Director: Johan Renck (Chernobyl)
Writer: Jaroslav Kalfar, Colby Day (Screenplay)
Cast
- Adam Sandler (Hustle)
- Carey Mulligan (Maestro)
- Paul Dano (The Batman)
- Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory)
- Isabella Rossellini (Death Becomes Her)
- Lena Olin (Hilma)
Plot: Half a year into his solo mission on the edge of the solar system, an astronaut concerned with the state of his life back on Earth is helped by an ancient creature he discovers in the bowels of his ship.
Runtime: 1 Hour 47 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Spaceman starts as we meet astronaut Jakub Prochazka (Sandler) who is completing a solo mission. He has reached the point for his research near Jupiter. However, his communication with his wife Lenka (Mulligan) has stopped. While unaware of the situation, Commissioner Tuma (Rossellini) must try to fix the situation.
Meanwhile, Jakub meets an ancient creature which he names Hanus on his ship. Back home, Peter (Nayyar) leads the team making sure Jakub is safe and healthy. However, they can’t see anything strange on the ship. Jakub ends up becoming friends with Hanus as they discuss the bigger meanings of the space. All while dealing with the bigger problems he is facing in his lonely state.
Verdict on Spaceman
Spaceman is a sci-fi adventure movie following a solo space mission. However, just before the astronaut reaches his destination, a series of strange series of events occur. Back home his wife wants to leave him, while he finds an ancient creature on board.
This is an odd movie, which explores loneliness while traveling through space. It tackles this with conversations with an unusual creature while showing him feeling unsure of what his life is really about. However, it doesn’t seem to go deep enough into the problems. It doesn’t help we follow too much going on back home which only fills us in on what is going on. Instead of letting us struggle like Jakub.
Adam Sandler does seem to struggle with his accent too, and I don’t understand why they didn’t just make him American instead of making everyone a European figurehead. In the end, this feels like there is a much deeper meaning and could have offered a lot more. However, it ends up feeling like a less interesting ‘Ad Astra’.
Where to Watch
JustWatchFinal Thoughts – Spaceman is a strange journey that lacks something special.