Spaceman, Adam Sandler’s latest drama film in his growing repertoire, sees the famed funnyman once again divert from his normal type to deliver an incredibly lonely drama set in space. Sandler plays Jakub, a spaceman for the Czech Republic who has embarked on a solo space mission to investigate a strange purple space cloud.
On his journey, he comes across Hanus (Paul Dano), a strange spiderlike creature that can travel across space and has mental powers. Hanus has become interested in Jakub and his life, especially that of his strained relationship with his wife Lenka (Carey Mulligan).
Based on the 2017 novel Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar, Spaceman is an incredibly slow burn type of movie. It is almost exclusively focused on Sandler’s Jakub and his conversations about his life and issues with Hanus. Essential pieces of plot, like why Jakub is out on a space mission in the first place, aren’t revealed until late in the film, but these plot points play second fiddle to the interplanetary therapy sessions that take up most of the screen time.
Because of this, the film relies heavily on acting performances, and that’s where it shines. Sandler once again proves that he’s more than just a comedy actor, as he gives a very real performance in the lead role. Mulligan once again excels, as she naturally does. Dano gives an incredibly mellow performance as Hanus, but one that oozes the nature of a higher being with a greater prescience than anything we know as humans.
Unfortunately, none of this can overcome how boring the story really is. Spaceman is the slow-burniest of the slow burn movies, and it comes off incredibly boring. I found myself wondering time and again why I care and what the point of the movie even is. There just needed to be something interesting going on to break up the monotony of the film. It may make for good reading, but not good watching.
The cinematography, however, was rather impressive. I fully believed that the film took place in a spaceship, and I like that they designed the set to feel lived in. Food and personal belongings taped to walls, boxes and things strewn about, and pieces of equipment breaking constantly added a solid touch of realism to the film.
Final Thoughts
While the acting is good all around, I have to wonder why something like this was even made. Spaceman doesn’t do much to warrant it existing, which sounds harsh but it’s true. The story is just too boring to overcome other bright spots, and when it moves at a snail’s pace, it just doesn’t work.
2/5
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