- Actors: Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield, Carla Gugino, Britt Robertson, BD Wong
- Director: Peter Chelsom
- Writer: Allan Loeb
- Producer: Richard B. Lewis
- Disc Format: Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1)
- Subtitles: Spanish, English
- Region: All Regions
- Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
- Rated: PG-13
- Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
- Release Date: May 16, 2017
- Digital Copy Expiration Date: May 2, 2018
From the trailer
of The Space Between Us, I
anticipated an inoffensive (albeit uninspired) movie that would likely appeal
to a small demographic of younger teens. What I wasn’t expecting was a film
that has absolutely no audience, as the content is questionable for
impressionable youths but filled with too many groan-inducing moments for any
adult to enjoy. Imagine the polar opposite of an intelligent science fiction
film like The Martian (2015) mixed
with contrived fish-out-of-water romance elements stolen from Starman (1984) and you may have a chance
at anticipating how bad The Space Between
Us actually is. I can say without hesitation that this is the worst film I
have seen in 2017 thus far, and this is a year that even had a Fifty Shades of Grey sequel.
There are so
many plot holes in The Space Between Us
that it is nearly impossible to even give a basic description without
addressing them, not to mention the countless minor ones that manage to taint
every scene of the film. Even the end credits are plagued with idiotic spelling
errors that could easily have been fixed with a modicum of competency. We begin
with a mission to Mars that is meant to save humanity by establishing life on
the hostile planet. Soon after a group of scientists are launched into space,
it is discovered that one of them is two months pregnant. We are meant to
believe that there were no physical examinations or blood tests two months
prior to their departure, mainly because there would be no movie without this
huge gap in logic. Rather than return to Earth, the existence of the pregnancy
is kept secret and the infant is raised on Mars after his mother dies during
childbirth.
Sixteen years
later Gardner Elliot (Asa Butterfield) longs to see Earth, and somehow
convinces the same people who have kept his existence a secret to make a trip
back to the planet to grant this wish. Let’s forget the fact that a trip like
this would insanely expensive and that none of the scientists were ever
supposed to return home. Let’s ignore the amount of time it would take for this
journey to be completed. More important to the story is the fact that Gardner wants to meet a teenage girl named Tulsa (Britt Robertson),
who he has been chatting with online, and to find his father, who he knows
nothing about.
Once Gardner returns to Earth,
the intelligence he had on Mars somehow disappears in order for the film to
turn into a fish-out-of-water narrative. We are meant to believe that Gardner knows nothing
about Earth, even when the story absolutely contradicts itself in order to make
this possible. Even though Gardner has the
ability to chat with Tulsa
on a daily basis, he somehow has no working knowledge of basic things that
could have been learned with internet access. He even acts surprised when he
first sees a horse, despite being raised by a group of scientists that could
have taught him something so basic. He has no clue how to interact socially,
even though he was surrounded by other humans in space. He even acts surprised
when first encountering a vehicle on Earth, completely ignoring the scene where
he takes a buggy out joyriding while on Mars. This doesn’t even include the
smaller errors in the film which could easily have been avoided, such as the
scene where Tulsa tells Gardner to get out of the car as they both
are standing outside of the car.
You might think
that I am being too harsh on a film meant for younger audiences, but the main
narrative once on Earth involves Tulsa and Gardner acting in a
manner that would be irresponsible to allow kids to watch. After running away
from authorities, the pair steals cars, clothes, money (some of which is taken
from scientists in the space station, despite there being no reason to bring
your wallet to Mars), and basically anything else that they need. Then there is
the fact that there is a completely unnecessary sex scene, which occurs only
minutes after Gardner
has had his first kiss. Not only is it morally questionable, the age difference
between the lead actors also makes it feel more than a little sleazy. Robertson
was in her mid-20s during filming, and although Butterfield turned 18 during
the shoot, he looks several years younger than he is. The end result feels like
a 10-year age gap, not to mention chemistry between them that consistently
feels forced.
The acting throughout the film is a
bit unbearable. Robertson is one of those actors that entered the film business
shortly after exiting the womb, but has yet to give a performance that is
impressive rather than simply annoying. And I think we can all be relieved that
Tom Holland was chosen to play the latest incarnation of Spider-Man over
Butterfield. Even the casting of Gary Oldman and Carla Gugino as the film’s
sole adults can’t save a single scene from feeling like an insult to the
intelligence of filmgoers. Oh, and just in case I didn’t point out enough
errors in logic, there is also a very hokey scene in which Gardner buys a Mars
candy bar (simply because he’s from Mars) despite the candy having been discontinued
from the United States for decades.
The Blu-ray
release boasts an alternate ending (though it does nothing to fix the many
problems with the film) along with nearly 14-minutes of additional deleted
scenes. There is also a director’s commentary by Peter Chelsom (who also
brought Hannah Montana to the big screen) and a brief promotional featurette
that basically just rehashes the plot and praises the cast for four minutes.
Entertainment Value:
3/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 1/10
Historical
Significance: 0/10
Special Features: 3/10
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