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Solaris

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Solaris (2002)

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Reviews Counted:195

Fresh:126

Rotten:69

Average Rating:6.5/10

Consensus: Slow-moving, cerebral, and ambiguous, Solaris is not a movie for everyone, but it offers intriguing issues to ponder.

Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Synopsis: Steven Soderbergh, whose eclectic resume includes the Academy Award(R)-winning drama "Traffic" as well as last year's ensemble caper "Ocean's Eleven," now brings his unique vision to SOLARIS, a... Steven Soderbergh, whose eclectic resume includes the Academy Award(R)-winning drama "Traffic" as well as last year's ensemble caper "Ocean's Eleven," now brings his unique vision to SOLARIS, a story of love, redemption, second chances and a space mission gone terribly wrong. SOLARIS is a love story rich with emotion and mystery, set within a science fiction framework. The story, which takes place sometime in the future, opens as Dr. Chris Kelvin is asked to investigate the unexplained behavior of a small group of scientists aboard the space station Prometheus, who have cut off all communication with Earth. Kelvin undertakes the journey after watching a communique from his close friend Gibarian, the mission's commander, who seeks Kelvin's help aboard the Prometheus for reasons Gibarian is unwilling - or unable - to explain. Keenly aware that his opinion will decide the fate of the orbital station, Kelvin is shocked by what he finds upon his arrival: Gibarian has committed suicide and the two remaining scientists are exhibiting signs of extreme stress and paranoia, seemingly caused by the results of their examination of the planet Solaris. Kelvin, too, becomes entrapped in the unique world's mysteries. Solaris, somehow, presents him with a second chance at love - to change the course of a past relationship that has caused him overwhelming guilt and remorse. But can he really revisit and alter the past? Or is he fated to repeat its mistakes? -- © 20th Century Fox [More]

Starring: George Clooney, Natascha McElhone, Jeremy Davies, Viola Davis

Starring: George Clooney, Natascha McElhone, Jeremy Davies, Viola Davis, Ulrich Tukur

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Director: Steven Soderbergh
Screenwriter: Steven Soderbergh
Producer: James Cameron, Rae Sanchini
Composer: Cliff Martinez
Studio: 20th Century Fox

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Reviews for Solaris

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
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Scripted, shot, directed and edited by Soderbergh with his customary intelligence and assurance, this is perhaps the most ambiguous and cerebrally sophisticated Hollywood movie in nearly three decades.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrews
Geoff Andrews
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It has the courage to wonder about big questions with sincerity and devotion. It risks seeming slow and pretentious, because it thinks the gamble is worth the promise.

Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
03/16/03
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic

Thoughtful, moving, impressively-directed sci-fi with a great performance by Clooney -- the pace may be off-putting but this is a deeply rewarding film.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
02/22/03
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

One of the finest science fiction films since 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
02/11/03
Nev Pierce
Nev Pierce
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

With audacity and style, Steven Soderbergh has revisited one of Russian cinema's landmarks, and done so very successfully.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
03/25/03
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Clooney handles himself very well in a rare dramatic role; he draws us into Kelvin's obsessive mind nicely, although he's perhaps not quite up to the challenge of taking us over the brink.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
02/27/03
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Anomalous and mesmerising.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
10/19/03
Tim Robey
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I prefer Soderbergh's concentration on his two lovers over Tarkovsky's mostly male, mostly patriarchal debating societies.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment 1 Comment
12/19/02
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer

Finely crafted and executed, this is one of those rare movies that will get you talking after it's over.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
11/27/02
E! Online

In a move as audacious as it is disastrous, Steve Soderbergh has decided to push the edges of what filmmaking can be and created in Solaris not so much a motion picture as a still life.

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
04/05/03
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

If you're going to make a 'thinking man's' film that alienates the public at large, then at least have the foresight to avoid amateurish dialogue delivered by feeble performances.

Full Review Source: Radio Free Entertainment | comment Comment
01/13/03
Andrew Manning
Andrew Manning
Radio Free Entertainment

Visually astonishing and thoroughly admirable.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
11/27/02
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com

Many will justifiably find [it] a heady experience akin to 90 minutes of watching paint dry. Others will see that paint forming something close to a masterpiece.

Full Review Source: Portland Mercury | comment Comment
01/21/05
Andrew Wright
Andrew Wright
Portland Mercury

...there you are, keenly aware that if you were intellectual enough, this would be seriously exciting entertainment. But since something in your artistic-merit decoder isn't functioning properly, you’re checking your watch

Full Review Source: Tooele Transcript-Bulletin (Utah) | comment Comment
11/27/02
Audrey Rock-Richardson
Audrey Rock-Richardson
Tooele Transcript-Bulletin (Utah)

No film this acutely self-aware has fallen victim to unjust contempt so widespread since Last Action Hero.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
06/17/03
Bill Chambers
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central

It is, all at once, exhilarating, frustrating, cryptic and wise.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
11/28/02
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic

As written by director Steven Soderbergh, Solaris comes across as one of those movies filled with cryptic dialogue that skirts around the story, forcing viewers to use their imaginations to fill in the blanks.

Full Review Source: Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) | comment Comment
11/26/02
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

There’s no emotional pulse to Solaris. With an emotional sterility to match its outer space setting, Soderbergh's spectacular swing for the fence yields only a spectacular whiff.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Today | comment Comment
12/02/02
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
Entertainment Today

Always a probing, intuitive filmmaker, Soderbergh, after some floundering attempts in the past, finally gets one of his cinematic experiments right.

Full Review Source: Modamag.com | comment Comment
11/29/02
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
Modamag.com

If George Clooney gives the best performance of his career here, he is probably still too facile for the material, his good looks and now instinctive charisma rubbing against the grain of an emotionally devastated character.

Full Review Source: Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus | comment Comment
12/25/02
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus
 
 
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Latest News for Solaris

July 20, 2007: Catalina Sandina Morena Joins Soderbergh's Che Films
Did you know that Steven Soderbergh was making a movie about Che Guevara? Starring Benicio Del Toro in the title role? Yeah, me too. But somehow I missed the news that he was... More...

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