Long Distance

"Long Distance," also known as "Distant" is a movie with a lot of potential but unfortunately fails to meet expectations. The quality of the film is inconsistent. While the beginning is strong and the ending is excellent, the lengthy and boring middle section falls far short of the quality one would expect from a good movie. The only consistently high-quality aspect throughout the film is its special effects.

The story follows an asteroid miner whose ship crash-lands on an uncharted planet. He discovers that he is not the only survivor and that the planet's harsh environment is inhabited by various aggressive alien species. With oxygen running low and accompanied by a malfunctioning AI, he embarks on a long journey to rescue another survivor trapped in her escape pod.

The influences of space sci-fi blockbusters and successful TV series are evident in this movie, with nods to "Prometheus," "Riddick," "Pitch Black," and "Lost in Space." However, this isn't necessarily a drawback, as the film also introduces some original ideas not seen in other space sci-fi stories. The storyline is simple but effective, the action scenes are captivating, and the cinematography is excellent.

Unfortunately, the acting is subpar, particularly in the middle section. The main character is portrayed as annoyingly foolish and overly hysterical, while the supporting characters don't fare much better. Additionally, I found myself disliking Naomi Scott's voice during her radio transmissions. It almost feels as though the middle section was directed by someone aiming to turn "Long Distance" into a low-grade comedy, in stark contrast to the rest of the film, which aspires to be a high-quality action sci-fi movie.

A mining spaceship gets hit by a meteorite and crashes onto an uncharted hostile planet. Lower level crew member Andy Ramirez (Anthony Ramos) and Naomi Calloway (Naomi Scott) are two survivors.

There is some action and some thrills. It's a creature feature. The creatures are good solid CGI creations. My biggest problem is that I don't really like Andy. He's a scared idiot for most of the movie. He gets a gun-like device, but nobody ever uses it for some reason. He's just not the brightest light in the room and that gets frustrating. It's a simple little sci-fi with creatures. It would be fine but Andy annoys me.

In short, it is a simple Sci-Fi flick with nothing extraordinary to offer. Don't expect anything on a grand or high scale; instead, keep your expectations at a bare average or medium level.

Typically, movies in this genre either feature intense scary elements or cutting-edge, next-level science fiction. However, this particular movie portrays space, uncharted territories, aliens, monsters, and futuristic gizmos on a moderate scale.

While the movie is entertaining, it's more of a onetime watch. It's certainly not something you'd revisit and is best suited for times when there's nothing else worth watching.

I like the actors in this. But Naomi Scott was almost completely wasted. Anthony Ramos is forced to carry most of the movie. And while he does an admirable job, it became kind of boring and linear.

The special effects are solid. The aliens are interesting and fairly scary. They could have fine-tuned them a bit, but overall they're pretty great. All the other effects are well-crafted and believable. So, if I can give props to anyone, it's the special effects team.

I can't say the same about the writers and editors. This was really poorly scripted and edited. There were giant plot holes, convenient things happen in the plot to overcome serious obstacles and some of the dialog was just terrible. The plot doesn't flow particularly well, either.

4/10. Watch it once. Enjoy the special effects.

Distant or Long Distance (I still don't get why you would call a movie with two different titles) is an entertaining sci-fi movie, not the best, for sure not, but good enough to watch once. The cinematography wasn't bad at all. The main reason I started watching this one was to see Zachary Quinto, but he turned out to be just the voice of a computer, so that was a bit disappointing. The rest of the very small cast did well though, not Oscar winning performances but good enough to look professional. In short it's worth a watch, just don't expect too much comedy as it's also categorized. I laughed once and that's it.