I always look for something in space movies that's not a typical explosion filled space garbage, that's an actual problem from what I have seen online, lots of things from satellites floating around. Spicological trauma that affects astronauts to the point that make them crazy has always been a cliche on this types of stories although interesting to watch, having a mental toll of deep space exploration is the goal of the film, directed by Mikael Hafstrom and starring Casey Affleck, but it doesn't always hit the mark.
The plot I would say is interesting enough with three astronauts out on a mission to Saturn's moon Titan, hoping to save a dying Earth from its own demise, isn't that cliche already?, by finding a new energy source. The film isn’t exactly blazing new territory, but it’s trying to look out its own space in the crowded space thriller genre. Risky gravitational slingshot maneuver around Jupiter, immediately creating tension, and potential disaster, classic space movie stuff.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12616480/
- Platform: AppleTV+
Rottentomatoes Rating
John, played by Casey Affleck, is one of three people in a three person crew, Captain Franks played by Laurence Fishburne and Nash played by Tomer Capone. Things get interesting, and weird, when you realize that their journey requires 90 day hibernation cycles. John's mind starts to short circuit with the hibernation drugs resulting in hallucinations and the loss of memory as the lines between reality and imagination disappear, is this movie about space junkies? kinda of if you ask me.
Even if the script doesn’t always provide the most compelling material to work with, Slingshot really shines with its cast, Casey Affleck, John a man who is slowly falling apart. The performance takes more out of internal struggle rather than dramatic outbursts. Nearly every scene Laurence Fishburne is in he steals, he brings a commanding presence that lift up the movie, just form the cover you can tell he is in charge, with a paranoid crew that cant really handle the trip, at several times you will be asking "who in their sane mind approve and accept this mission?", well desperate times desperate measures.
The movie visual approach is minimalist, but effective, something very hard to achieve when you have close spaces scenes specially with only three guys on board. Director Hafstrom sets almost everything inside the small spaceship, and it’s a claustrophobic, futuristic, trip with a ton of emotional drama. The sterile white interior and the bright computer screens add to a sense of isolation and psychological tension, clearly the director had a small budget, but he makes every penny count.
I could not ask more from the audience when I saw how mixed reception is for a movie launching so many ideas trying to pull one of the hardest task aside from a biopic, close spaces movies. The psychological depth and implied ambiguity of the storytelling was welcomed by some and repelled by others, people are use to action and confine into a small ship with a small crew well there is not much, recently on Romulus at least the ship was big enough. It’s more of a niche experience, you’re going to find some people who are going to be into this, but it’s not going to be for everybody, but for some people it might be fascinating, mind bending sci fi, you probably need to find psychological struggle fascinating trying to explore what someone under those circumstances could be thinking or experiencing.
My personal opinion?, well I would say it's a fascinating mess, continually throwing new interpretations of what is actually happening, keeping you guessing of whats real and what is just product of the drugs they take. Are these events real or elaborate hallucinations?, both its greatest strength and its most significant weakness is that it doesn’t let you have a simple answer. It’s also got moments that genuinely get under your skin, especially as John’s grip on reality becomes less firm.
Things really get wild at the ending, the movie gives away too little and shows you multiple realities that challenge everything you know. That's the sort of conclusion that will have you debating friends for hours, trying to work out what actually happened. It will be frustratingly ambiguous to some and mental gymnastics to others.
Slingshot never fully disappoints because it is dedicated to exploring psychological trauma and isolation. It does so in ways that really do ask some genuinely interesting questions about human endurance, the nature of reality, and the psychological challenges of space research. The mission to Titan is not the movie so I can understand why most people are disappointed about it, you might also feel you jump in to this movie thinking is all about space exploration or something else, aliens?, well not any of the above, it’s the internal journey of its characters.
It would be a solid 6.5 out of 10 but not in a bad way, a 6.5 that tells this is a niche movie with a very specific topic at hand, you’ll want to talk about it right away about the multiple what IF!.
If you’re a sci fi fan and like movies like the most recent space movie by Adam Sandler, Spaceman (2024), with more emphasis on inner space than outer space, Slingshot is worth a showing. Don’t expect clear cut answers or a traditional story line, this is a movie that wants to play with your head and it does a pretty good job of it, I love when directors try to do this. The scariest things might not be external threats in space exploration, but the psychological strains of isolation.
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