Cynthia Ward

It was Tuesday not long after the movie opened here, and it had already been demoted to a small theatre - not a good sign. Half an hour into the movie my science nerd friend quickly shut down annoyed by the errors in the science. Next to me I heard a group of 30 something men snickering after nearly every scene. This is a government city full of scientists so I can guess where these men came from. I was ambivalent about the film being both a longtime sci-fi fan, and an admirer of Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Tommy Lee Jones did give us a formidable Kurtz. The narration based on the internal life of the astronaut hero rather than on his ability to strong-arm his crew and thrash a bunch of aliens without breaking a sweat was enjoyable because it took a little chip out of the genre itself.