Spaceman Movie Review

Spaceman

Synopsis: Jakub Procházka (Sandler), orphaned as a boy and raised in the Czech countryside by his grandparents, overcomes his odds to become the country's first astronaut.

Director: Johan Renck

Starring: Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan & Paul Dano (Voice of).

Runtime: 1 hour 48 mins

Genre: Sci-Fi Drama

IMDb : Click Here

RT: Click Here

With the exception of the first Murder Mystery (2019) movie, I've never been a huge fan of Adam Sandler's comedies. His dramas however, such as Uncut Gems (2019) and especially the excellent Hustle (2022) has shown the actor in a new light, he is a bloody good actor. Marry that with the fact he is widely thought to be one of the most genuine people in Hollywood. Sandler's is a career I am now watching with interest.

Spaceman, released on Netflix today is based on the book Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfař. Whilst it further demonstrates that Sandler is very well suited to dramatic roles, it is a misfire of a movie.

So essentially for the last four years there has been a mysterious purple nebulous cloud seen in the sky from Earth, so ESA send Czech astronaut Jakub (Sandler) on a one-man deep space mission to investigate what has been dubbed the Chopra cloud at the fringes of Jupiter. In doing so he leaves behind Lenka (Mulligan) his estranged heavily pregnant wife. Towards the end of his mission a benevolent alien in the form a large arachnid christened Hanuš (Hanush) by Jakub (Voiced by Paul Dano), itself a lone explorer appears on board. Is he real or is he a figment of Jakub's imagination? Regardless, in striving to understand the human condition, Hanuš makes Jakub relive often painful memories through a series of visually distorted flashbacks. 

If this all sounds weird, you'd be right. However, my issue with the movie is not that it's weird (I've seen stranger films)  it's the fact it doesn't work. Whilst Sandler is engaging to watch, it is just too much of a slow burn and the pacing is way too pedestrian for my liking. In lingering too much on Jakub's failed marriage it becomes overly melancholic and meditative. This makes the movie drag, it's not overly long at 1 hour 48 minutes, but the general sluggishness makes it feel a whole lot longer.

Carey Mulligan (Who is insanely talented, see Bradley Cooper's recent Maestro) is equally squandered and she in essence is just handed the role of the moping estranged wife regretting her marriage whilst preparing to deal with the impending birth of their baby.

I adore movies about space. One man in space survival movies such as Moon (2009) and The Martian (2015) are riveting examples of this sub-genre. Spaceman sadly is not in that club.

It's set in space and Sandler is excellent so it's not getting my "One to Miss" grade but it's a soporific movie that has a failure to launch.

Verdict: It's Fine