6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
In this interplanetary romance, Gardner Elliot (Asa Butterfield), the first person born on Mars, falls in love with a teenage girl in Colorado and makes plans to meet her.
Starring: Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield, Carla Gugino, Britt Robertson, BD WongTeen | 100% |
Romance | 67% |
Coming of age | 54% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Space Between Us is another film based on a young adult novel written by...wait, what? It's not based on a YA book? Seriously? This thing hasn't been at every Scholastic book fair for the last three years? It has "based on the YA book by" written all over it, pun very much intended. No, for once, this is an original story conceived for film written by Allan Loeb (Collateral Beauty) but it's every bit pigeonholed into the YA style. The story of a boy, a girl, great distances, some health problems, and overcoming it all to find true love certainly doesn't sound very original. It sounds downright hackneyed to be honest, but somehow the movie works on a sweet-and-simple level. Excuse its unoriginality, embrace its sincerity, enjoy the love story, and chances are most in the audience (at least those who would be organically drawn to such a movie, anyway) will forgive its flaws and few moments of absurdity and find themselves satisfied with the core, and very linear, story the film has to offer.
The Space Between Us was digitally photographed and translates nicely to the Blu-ray format. While it doesn't pass for film, the image does take on some core film-like textures, leaving behind, largely, the flatness and glossiness of lower-tier digital sources. Details are stout. The image is clear and sharp, well defined from corner to corner and never wanting for any significant boost in textural adeptness. Whether faces, clothes, or environments -- sterile Martian interior locations or more tangibly and texturally diverse locales on Earth -- the transfer is never wanting for clarity and visual interest. Colors are well saturated, very punchy but dialed in nicely. Primaries jump off the screen and support hues, especially the colder whites, grays, and blues in those Martian interiors, are dense and detailed. Black levels hold firm and flesh tones present no problems. Source noise is occasionally evident, even in very well lit scenes rather than just the usual suspect low-light interiors. This is hardly a game-changer or ground-breaker, but Universal's transfer satisfiers all requirements of a new release film brought to Blu-ray.
The Space Between Us blasts onto Blu-ray with a well-rounded and well-versed DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack. The matching of the material's needs and the track's prowess makes for a solid coupling, and Universal's sound presentation delivers in every scene. Rocket blasts are particularly impressive, one later in the movie more so than one early in the movie, but there's a good foundational strength and room-filling presence to each, just a bit more with one in the third act. A few additional heavy-set sound effects play with authoritative presence as well, including crashing ocean waves later in the film, a martian rover crash early on, and an airplane crash on Earth partway through. Music is aggressively spaced and the surround channels carry a healthy portion of the load. Musical detailing, whether score or songs, instrumental or vocals, is terrific. Environmental effects prove nicely filling and complimentary. Whether reverberation in a lecture hall, crowded school hallway din, or at a Sam's Club store, the track always draws the listener into the film's diverse environments. Dialogue is clear and well fined, center positioned, and well prioritized.
The Space Between Us contains an alternate ending, deleted scenes, a featurette, and a commentary. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher
for a UV/iTunes digital copy are included with purchase.
The Space Between Us is an agreeable story about a boy and a girl who fall in love. Their love is tested, and it endures. It's nothing new, it's nothing special, but it works because it's focused, plays with no frills, and never does anything that betrays its core simplicity and sincerity. Despite a few drawbacks, particularly in the acting department, the movie otherwise satisfies on a fundamental level and should leave the audience smiling. Universal's Blu-ray offers solid video and audio. A few extras are included. Recommended.
1991
Remastered
1985
1986
2012
2015
2017
2016
1986
35th Anniversary Edition
1987
2018
2020-2023
Remastered
1989
1998-2003
Step Up 3D
2010
2018
1986
2014
1985
10th Anniversary Edition
2002
2018