The Space Between Us - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Space Between Us

Movie: :
Video:
Audio:

Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
I was originally intrigued by The Space Between Us upon watching the trailer. It had a unique premise about a boy in the unlabeled future growing up on Mars, and wishing for a connection to his home back on earth. It seemed cute, appealing to a wide audience and the space twist made for an intriguing idea. Sadly, the execution fall FAR below what I was expecting, considering the premise, and delves very deeply into the cheesy and childish nature of Young Adult (despite not being taken from a young adult novel). There’s a sweet simplicity to the story, and definitely a very nice performance by Asa Butterfield, so I’m rather conflicted by the film. On one hand, I really liked some of the cute moments and the budding romance with him and Tulsa, but on the other hand we’re faced with massive suspension of belief and dialog that seems to have been written BY a teenager.

The Mars expedition seems to have spawned quite a lot of discussion about traveling to the red planet lately. Something that hasn’t been real hot since the 90s and very early 2000s when we had films like Red Planet and Mission to Mars. This time we’re somewhere in the near future (unspecified), with humanity already making it to Mars and colonized a small area known as East Texas (I had to chuckle at that). Nathaniel Gardner (Gary Oldman) is sending up another 6-man mission to the colony and just after takeoff the female astronaut (Janet Montgomery) is revealed to be pregnant. Now this creates a giant hullabaloo amongst mission control as no one has ever given birth outside of Earth before. The effects of zero G on a growing fetus are unknown, let alone growing up on a planet whose gravity is much less than that of Earth’s. Then there’s the public image and outcry if they announced that. So, they decide to allow the mission to continue on instead of returning home, as long as this child’s existence is kept from public knowledge.

Flit 16 years into the future and the boy is now a burgeoning man named Gardner Elliot (Asa Butterfield). Growing up on Mars amidst scientists have created a brilliant young man, but one who longs for someone his own age and the ability to travel back to his home world. The only communication he has with another person his age is through a computer messaging system that he hacks into and is able to talk to a young foster care girl named “Tulsa” (Britt Robertson). HOWEVER, the boy pushes and pushes until he finally has a chance to come back to Earth (against many people’s better judgements) where he can finally see the world for the first time.

Gardner has a bit of an ulterior motive when he gets back. Not only does he want to explore the world, but he wants to track down his unknown father, and the only clue that he has is a picture of his mother with some guy, and a will to succeed. When it becomes clear that the NASA specialists want to send him back to Mars due to the effects that Earth is having on his boned structure and organs, Gardner escapes the NASA facility and tracks down Tulsa, where the two head off to find his mysterious father. As you can probably guess, Romance ensues between the pair while Nathaniel Shepherd and Gardner’s caretaker, Kendra (Carla Gugino) try and track him down before his body buckles under the weight of Earth’s gravitational effects.

My only response to The Space Between Us is “huh?” after viewing. There was so much potential in the film, but it fell so so far down after the first 15 minutes. The romantic in me really wanted this to succeed, but the lover of quality writing in me died a little bit inside. The story is incredibly sweet and works on a primal level. Britt Robertson and Asa Butterfield both have fantastic chemistry with the leeway they’re given, but too many times the sloppy writing and weak dialog distracted from the potential at hand. The story is very straight forward and predictable, almost to painful levels, as they telegraph the identity of the father throughout the whole movie to the point where I almost felt they didn’t even INTEND to keep it a secret from anyone but the movie characters.

Performances tend to be good to great (with Asa really shining with his naïve, but sweet awe of a world that he’s never known), and Brit taking a close second. I was REALLY surprised to see how tamed Gary Oldman was. There’s a few moments where he flies off the handle, but his trademark scenery chewing is much more subdued and soft compared to how we’re used to seeing him. Carla Gugino has kind of fallen off the radar recently, but she does a good job considering her minimal scripting and plays to audience quite well.



Rating:

Rated PG-13 for brief sensuality and language




Video:

The Space Between Us was definitely shot on digital, and the results are a glossy looking image that makes the viewer feels as if they’re literally looking through a window. The film has a very natural, but sun kissed, look that is incredibly sharp and very detailed. You can see every pore and line on Gary Oldman’s face, and the background details for the Mars East Texas environment is sparklingly clear. Almost what I would call “IPad” white at times. Back on Earth things get a little more neutral in their shades, with bright greens of the outdoor Colorado air, the blue waves of the ocean, and earthy colors when the duo travel to the New Mexican Indian shaman. Black levels are deep and inky, showing impressive shadow detailing, and the delineation is quite impressive. The only fault I could find with the transfer was some minimal banding that happen in the darkness, but it was very mild. I was really sad that this one didn’t get a 4K UHD release as the visuals were just SCREAMING for it, but the 1080p Blu-ray is an incredible looking disc and well worth the watch in that regards.



Audio:

Universal has given The Space Between Us a 7.1 DTS-HD MA mix that is beyond stellar. You wouldn’t expect a teeny drama like this to have a rocking audio track, but lo and behold, that’s exactly what you’re getting. The track isn’t a gung ho action track, but rather adapts to the needs of the film at hand and changes depending on the moment. The opening shots of mars and the accompanying space shots are coupled with low, throaty, LFE that gives some nice weight to the experience, but when the film gets more dialog heavy there is a natural shift to the front of the sound stage. There are quite a few immersive effects that create a very spacious and open environment (such as birds chirping in the background, or a crop duster lifting off the ground). The music flows softly, but smoothly throughout the film, and there is a distinctly wide dynamic range that can surprise you at times.





Extras:

• Alternate Ending
• Deleted Scenes
• Love Featurette
• Audio Commentary with Director Peter Chelsom

Final Score: ​

The young adult nature of The Space Between Us is nothing new, and really feels like it came directly from some series of books much like The Hunger Games or Divergent. Sadly, it takes all of the traits and flaws of that genre with it and creates a movie that is decently agreeable, but really stretches the limit of one’s ability to suspend disbelief. Syrupy dialog, cheesy romance (a sex scene thrown in for no good reason), and a few moments that have you slapping your own head. It’s not a horrible movie, but a stilted one nonetheless that is supported by a great premise, but weak execution. The audio and video are stellar, but with the minimal extras and the wonky storytelling, I’d recommend this one as a rental only.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield, Carla Gugino
Directed by: Peter Chelsom
Written by: Allan Loeb, Stewart Schill
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 7.1
Studio: Universal
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 121 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: May 16th, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Rental

 

[JBrax]

Thanks for the review Mike. I think I'll skip this one. I just have to say I love the interface and clean look of your review on the site. Movie reviews have never looked this good on my phone. I look forward to your future 4K UHD reviews!

 

[Michael Scott]

yeah, I don't blame you buddy. And I agree, I like the new layout. Looks much cleaner and I'm enjoying the new format.

4K reviews are definitely planned, and I have "Unforgiven" coming out this week as well on 4K UHD

 

[JBrax]

Oh, now that's a blind buy regardless.

 

[JimShaw]

Mike

Thanks for the review.

I actually had this Blu-ray along with three others in a cart ready to order.

After reading your review, it has been pulled from ordering to now a rental.

Thanks for save me $$$$

 

[Todd Anderson]

Mike - Great review! Everything looks super sharp!! Looking forward to what's to come!

 

[Asere]

Thank you for the review. My wife has been wanting to see this one. There is never a bad chick flick for her. Even if it's horrible she'll say it was cute lol.

 

[Michael Scott]

we all gotta please the wife