Review of Solaris (2002) by Michael Y — 17 Sep 2011

With the handicap of being a remake, Steven Soderbergh's Solaris shares the same plot points and covers the same themes, but it's mood and themes are well captured.

The always enjoyable George Clooney stars as Chris Kelvin. Kelvin is a psychologist who is sent to investigate the crew on a spaceship that is researching the planet Solaris. But when he arrives he discovers that most of the crew have killed themselves. The cause of their torment is unknown, but Kelvin is about to find out when his dead lover mysteriously appears infront of him, alive and well. The only significant difference in THIS Solaris is that we get a glims into Kelvin's world and his developing and failing relationship with his girlfriend. We actually see him in the city and futuristic world, and we get to see the real problem in his personal life. But it's not as much as interesting as it is an explaination for the series of events and emotions. Other than that, we are given the same material the original had already covered. But where the original thoroughly examined it's themes in the 165 minute running time, this 100 minute movie only briefly gives us the right themes and emotions were supposed to get from the story.

If there's anyone who could capture the thoughtful but slow pace of Andrey Tarkovskiy it's Steven Soderbergh. Don't get me wrong, I love Soderbergh, and he captures the mood of the story quite well. The slow pace, the sense of depression and isolation, the mystery and psychological horror, all of it is there. But I guess my problem is that as slow and depressing this movie is, which is still very unconventional to other Hollywood movies, Andrey Tarkovskiy's version is a lot more slower, more isolated and depressing, and frankly, the scenes make a lot more sense and have more purpose. Where Tarkovskiy's Solaris had scenes of great symbolism and meaning, the only meaning to the shots in this movie are how cool the animation looks and how depressing Kelvin's life is. The 1972 movie had a lot more meaning. But other than the comparison, this movie does look quite stunning. The spaceship looks a lot more realistic as a spaceship than the original, and I REALLY LOVE the look of the futuristic society. The little changes in technology, and what remains the same today is a great mix of sci-fi and a natural and realistic feel. And trying not to compare the two movies, the directing and cinematography is fantastic as always from Soderbergh.

If one never seen the original 1972 Solaris, then they would find this movie very creative and thought provoking. Hell, maybe they would prefer this version because of the aquired taste it takes to sit through the '72 Solaris. But for me, and on a professional level, what this Solaris tries to say and get across, the original did a lot more clearly and effectively. And due to the lack of originality in this movie, I have to deduct points.