Snow? Isolation? A beard on someone who usually doesn’t have one? The Midnight Sky has a lot more similarities to being quarantined this winter than I think we all expected. George Clooney and Felicity Jones star in this sci-fi adventure that boasts a number of other big names and curiosities. However, some of the moments, set pieces and plot points make this film feel fairly average and shallow instead of its attempts to be surreal and introspective.
If you ever wanted to see George Clooney bearded, unkempt and barfing, this film has that in spades. He does a pretty good job with his character being believably grumpy and tired, but it feels somewhat unnatural when he tries to add some levity and fun in this experience. It’s not his acting that’s the issue or any of the characters performances, the writing just seems a little poorly balanced and oddly paced.
The effects are pretty good, especially being an original on Netflix and partially done through the pandemic. They are well convincing and totally passable, but it is evident that various scenes (especially the ones in space) are done almost completely in CGI. There are a few beautiful moments and artistically, visual moments, but they aren’t carried too far because of the thin plot.
As for the story, it is a pretty simple and straightforward jumble of sci-fi concepts; the earth is dying and starships are sent out to find new places for the human race to live. The rest of the story focuses on one person (bearded Clooney) who is trying to save a returning ship from becoming stuck on Earth while dealing with the hardships of taking care of himself and other unexpected surprises. This seems to be a pretty good adaptation and summary of what is happening in the book, however I think that a bit more focus on the man and his relationships and struggles in the dying world would have taken this movie to a next level. It felt very much like The Martian in a variety of ways of dealing with isolation, space travel and loss. But, to add more spectacle and selling points, it seems like a lot more screen time was dedicated to the spaceship.
Overall, the story is fine and the movie has a lot of entertainment value, it just fell flat in doing much of anything original because of its similarities to other films and lack of focus on Clooney’s character. This may not be one of the best sci-fi films, but considering the circumstances, it is mostly entertaining and a fine film to watch on a random Tuesday.
