'The Space Between Us' Is Pleasant

The Space Between Us is a science fiction romance film that centers on Gardner Elliot, who is birthed by the lead astronaut (Janet Montgomery) of the first ever mission to colonize Mars.  His mother dies during childbirth, and his existence as the first person born on Mars is kept a secret by Nathaniel Shepherd (Gary Oldman), CEO of the company that launched the mission to the Red Planet, to avoid a PR disaster.   In the next 16 years, Gardner receives a very unconventional upbringing from the 14 remaining colonists, and grows up into an ever curious, intelligent young man (Asa Butterfield).  While using the Internet to research the home planet that he has never stepped on as well as the identity of his unknown father, he chats with a street smart girl named Tulsa (Britt Robertson), whom he becomes friends with.  When Gardner finally gets the chance to go to Earth, he meets Tulsa in person, and they proceed on a road trip to look for his father.  But just as a romance is starting to blossom between them, it’s revealed that Gardner’s organs are incapable of withstanding the Earth’s atmospheric pressure, and in order to survive, he must quickly return back to Mars.

Well, the premise is interesting.  But how is the rest of the movie?

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Yep.  The movie is “pleasant.”  That is, if you consider it pleasant having to eat a pile of cheese drenched in syrup while a dull, tedious, monotonic audio book of Moby Dick is playing in the background, lulling you to a coma-like slumber.

Despite the promising setup, The Space Between Us is unfortunately sappy, cheesy, and mind-numbingly boring.