The Astronaut

There was a time in my childhood when i was interested reading about space. I was probably 9 years old in 1986 when i went to the local library reading about diferent planets and learning where they were located. I can´t remember the title of one specific book but it was really well written and had lots of pictures to show all the planets, explaining what each planet looked like on the surface and why humans can´t live there. I also started getting into science fiction films during this time period and i used to watch several titles that i borrowed by our neighbors The Ostwalds family. I remember that it was at their home i borrowed the 1985 science fiction film Back To The Future. At this time i didn´t know how big this film was, since i didn´t really go to cinemas often until the year of 1988. Back To The Future is one of the true 80´s classics from director Robert Zemeckis and this is a very charming film. Back To The Future tells the story of teenager Marty McFly ( Michael J. Fox ) who one night meets his eccentric  scientist friend, Emmet "Doc" Brown ( Christopher Lloyd ), in the Twin Pines parking lot. Doc unveils  a time machine, that he built  from a modified DeLorean., powered by plutonium he swindled from Libyan terrorists. Doc gets shot by Libyan terrorists at this parking lot and Marty escape in the time machine, sending him back to the year of 1955. The first film is truly a nagical 80´s film that i can rewatch over and over. The second film have it´s charm, but i think the third film released in 1990 was a charming final film taking place in the late 1800´s. None of these films may have much to do with space or planets, but time travelling definetely belong within the science fiction genre. Speaking of outer space how many of you have seen the 2017 sci fi horror film Life from director Daniel Espinosa? This is a well made horror film in space where astronauts are taking soil samples on Mars, where they accidently bring another life form inside their spaceship. If you enjoy sci fi horror films similar to the Alien franchise, you might enjoy this one. Last year i was curious about a sci fi horror film called The Astronaut from director Jess Varley. Being a fan of this genre and i did enjoy actress Kate Mara in the 2016 sci fi hororr film Morgan, i was curious to see Mara return with another sci fi horror film. Is this a solid choice to your watchlist or should you skip The Astronaut and watch the 2017 film Life instead?

Astronaut Capt. Sam Walker ( Kate Mara ) crash-lands back on Earth where her father Gen. William Harris ( Laurence Fishburne ) makes sure she is taken to quarantine at a rehabilitation house, where she is supposed to rest and get back to ordinary life. While staying at this beautiful location it seems she may not have been alone during her return trip to Earth.

However you feel about this specific genre, i can honestly say i have a soft spot for the combination of science fiction and horror combined. If the film have good characters, a interesting plot plus descent special effects im mostly positive for new releases. And i will say that from the beginning of this film there is a interesting story, how a astronaut is trying to heal herself after a difficult mission in space out in the middle of nowhere. What this film does right is using the location of the facility, where something seems to be following the main character Sam Walker. In certain scenes we see her searching for an answer to what is out there, and i have to say the set up is simple but effective. Since i can tell this film had a limited budget you can still make a science fiction film work well, and The Austrobaut manage to build up some mysterious tensions. Lead actress Kate Mara delivers a solid performance in this film and i do appreciate seeing her in this specific genre, since i felt she did a good performance in the 2016 film Morgan as well. I like the fact that they tried to give us an image how difficult it is being a mother away from your child, since you are in space for long periods of times, how this affect parenthood and actress Kate Mara manage to show these emotions. Actor Laurence Fishburne as Mara´s father General William is alright, not one of his best performances but still solid enough. Everything feels alright for the most part until we get closer to the end of this fillm, and im sorry to say this is where my biggest issue is with The Austronaut. The CGI effects of these so called "aliens" looks terrible for a film released in 2025. If this film was made in the year of 1998 i might have accepted that they had limited resources, but if this was their best design then im beginning to wonder how they thought these aliens would work when there is nothing wrong with the plot itself. If they could have improved the CGI effects and made the aliens look more interesting, it could have been a more effective ending of this film. Overall i do think this is a solid science fiction film even if The Austronaut have some flaws. Director Jess Varley proves with The Austronaut that even on a limited budget you can make interesting science fiction stories.

Rating: DDD