‘The Space Between Us’ Blu-ray Review: Sparks in Space

The Film

Here I don’t mean by “sparks” as a description in a positive light, I actually mean novelist Nicholas Sparks. The Space between us feels like a second-rate romantic tear-jerker Nicholas Sparks novel, but not even as good as most of his novels turned into films. Here we have a classic example of a film trying to be too many different things at the same time and pretty much failing in being any of them. If you are not a girl in high-school then you can safely skip this one, unless you are having some really difficult time sleeping and need something to drain your eyes for ten minutes every night so you will probably finish it in a week or so.

Other than lacking originality and sticking to formula, this one is trying to be a road adventure, science fiction adventure, romantic tear-jerker, and a comedy. It is like trying to cook, watch a movie, finish your homework, and talk to your friends at the same time. So you probably guessed what happened with this one, it missed the mark on all fronts. In addition to all that, the script feels pointless with a big “where is this going” question all over it. On the positive side, there is some chemistry here between Asa Butterfield and Britt Robertson which could appeal to certain movie goers. The romance and the young age of its two main protagonists is an attractive selling point to the young crowd who can easily connect with those two characters.

In conclusion, The Space Between Us falls short on most levels and wastes some good talent including Gary Oldman’s acting which is usually very hard to waste. It might appeal to the young crowd because of the youthful romance and the young cast, but that is still far from a saving grace here.

Rating: 4/10

The Video and Audio

The filmmakers somehow redeem themselves a bit here. Not enough to make up for the whole experience but the video is decent. The colours are striking, and the effects are vibrant. The focus here seems to be on the level of detail, and the team behind the camera put some solid efforts to show the audience some deep high definition details in everything, ranging from the faces to outer-space.

The DTS audio track also adds a positive point to the experience. It is as detailed as the video. The sound mixing is done right, and everything sounds great as it should. The dialog is crisp and clear, while effects sound impressive and space filling at a good level. Both the video and the audio are decent, they add a much-needed addition to the underwhelming experience caused by the script and the other shortcomings in this film.

Rating: 7.5/10

The Extras

Another much needed positive aspect here are the extras, there is nothing special here as most of the five deleted scenes are not worthy additions but out of pure curiosity they can be interesting to the viewer. The alternate ending doesn’t feel like an alternate ending, but if you like Gary Oldman then you might like it. The best part about the extras is director Peter Chelsom’s commentary, he shows a lot of understanding and love to the material that he is giving to the audience, but unfortunately the movie doesn’t match up to his excitement and philosophy.

Rating: 6/10

Final Verdict

The extras and the Audio-Visual experience help make The Space Between Us a more bearable experience, but overall there is very little here to recommend as the movie misses the mark and ends up trying to be a lot of different things instead of deciding what exactly it wants to be.

Rating: 5.8/10