Review of Solaris (2002) by Chris G — 27 Dec 2009

Many felt that Stanislaw Lem's novel was perfectly adapted into screen in 1971's Russian film of the same name, which was directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, and that this version, as directed by Steven Soderbergh, was an unnecessary and somewhat distilled failure of a remake.

I beg to differ, although regretably I haven't read the book and or watched the first film adaptation, so I'm not sure how much more superior in terms of craft or entertainment they might be. On its own, I find this is much more enjoyable if viewed for its own merits, which include Soderbergh's pretty, focused and experimental direction and a solid lead performance from his frequent collaborator George Clooney, as well as a stellar supporting performance from Jeremy Davies (of "Saving Private Ryan" fame).

In the end, it's more interesting than entertaining, more idea-provoking than narratively challenging, and more fun discussing than watching, but it's rare to see such an emotionally and philosophically driven science fiction movie with this kind of polish produced by a major studio in the last decade.

At the time, Soderbergh was on a big role, so I'm sure his involvement let this most unorthodox flick slip by, as well as help from producer James Cameron, who keeps his more showy and macho style on the sideline and seems to have only influenced the film through some sparringly used special FX.

It's more comparable to something like "The Fountain" than other big budget sci-fi films, and so if you fall into the category of viewers who like weird, ambitious stories that are purely symbolic instead of by-the-numbers mainstream fare, this should be quite satisfying.