Why this perfectly doable Outer Space Cautionary doesn’t come off is something of a puzzle. With background in nature-oriented documentary & fiction, director Gabriela Cowperthwaite ought to be just the thing for Nick Shafir’s original screenplay aboard an International Space Station ‘manned’ by six science-techie astronauts: three Americans (two guys/one gal) and three Russians (dva malchicks/odin devochka). Busy with station maintenance; personal bonding (there’s an international affair); medical experiments including a radiation antidote; and tension relief via group singalongs. Pop tastes and off-key renditions enough to restart the Cold War. This proves unneeded when their unobstructed view of Earth changes from Big Blue Marble to flaming-red nuclear incident. It’s war back home and the shipmates are not only on different sides but under secret instructions to ‘take over’ the craft using 'whatever force necessary.' Yikes! Pluses come from a limited budget that keep things human-scaled; from acting more reliable than hysterical; secret alliances & changing loyalties offering dramatic possibilities; even an implied moral: Never travel in space with an even number of astronauts! As the American commander, Chris Messina stands out simply by having a facial bone structures that takes the light, but that’s about the only thing that stands out here.
WATCH THIS, NOT THAT/LINK: Tired of self-serious spacedom? Lighten up with John Carpenter’s low-budget/low-tech student project, DARK STAR/’74. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2014/06/dark-star-1974.html
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