Review | Berlin 2024: Spaceman movie review – Netflix sci-fi drama starring Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan and Paul Dano squanders its potential
- Spaceman stars Adam Sandler as an astronaut who has spent six months in space and starts to project his fears and isolation into a spider-like creature
- The film has its moments but director Johan Renck struggles to sustain interest into the final act, with a story that gets increasingly maudlin and sentimental
2.5/5 stars
“There was so much love – where did it all go?” asks Hanus (Paul Dano) in this strange, surreal and ultimately unsatisfying Netflix-backed sci-fi. That Hanus is a giant talking arachnid-like creature that appears to be a projection of a lone astronaut’s fears and isolation is just one of the film’s bizarre elements.
Premiering out of competition at the Berlin Film Festival, Spaceman stars Adam Sandler as Jakob, who has spent six months in space alone investigating an astral phenomenon called the Chopra Cloud, which has “haunted” the skies above Earth for the past four years.
This solo mission has meant leaving behind his pregnant wife Lenka (Carey Mulligan), who is growing anxious from their separation. Unable to sleep properly, Jakub is cracking up too.
Then he has a nightmare, imagining a spider under his skin. Soon this manifests itself into being, conversing with him as it scuttles around the confines of the spaceship.
“I will neither consume nor contaminate you,” the creature says. “I wish to assist you in your emotional distress.”
