Okay, I'm old school dude. Like Golden Age of Science Fiction old. Maybe I'm too tolerant. But I'm not the only one! There is a lot of slamming going on here. The truth is this isn't a bad movie. If you want to be cynical then go right ahead and not enjoy yourself. This isn't science fiction. It's fantasy. Most of the gripes I read are legit. There are plenty of things that aren't scientifically correct. The plot is a new twist on an ancient concept. It's a STORY. I like the movie because it was fun to watch. Entertaining. And for a change, not a shot was fired except for rockets. So cut it a little slack and go in and be entertained.

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Some of the reviews I have read must have come from those without a beating heart. I finally took the time to watch this film as the reviews were not great. I had an understanding it was a little sci-fi and a lot teenage love story going in. I found the screenplay to be brilliant by such young actors. I also understand there should be some fantastic things in a movie that includes sci-fi so while some of what the teenage couple set out to do seems unrealistic, it fits for what story the director and writer were trying to give us. I wish more adults could express the feelings this movie tries to tell us not to hide, and to enjoy every moment of life that is afforded to us. I found this movie not only heart warming but uplifting and inspiring. Thank you for such a much need film of this type. It has been a while. Take the fantastical with a grain of salt and pay attention to what it is trying to share, we may just all benefit from that thought process rather than the cynical one.

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I went to see the movie as an accompanying adult with my little sister and her friends, who are all 13. The plot seemed promising at first. A kid born on Mars, that's a cool take on Martians, right?. That was not the case. About 30 minutes into the film, I started twitching in my seat, about how little sense it all made. Got worse the more it went on. In my opinion, it was a mediocre story built around a great initial idea. I can't rant without spoiling, so I'll just say that the love story is weak and develops too fast. The kids are supposed to be 16 in the film, yet the 22+ looking Britt Robertson makes Asa Butterfield look more 14 than 16. In my opinion, it's unrealistic and pointless to see unless you are into a super super easy watch and won't get disturbed by stuff like 3 inch thick see-through laptops 16 years into the future; 16-year-olds crashing a plane into a building and jumping off on the last minute before a great explosion like Bruce Willis in Die Hard; half the movie being 16-year-olds making out and stealing cars; and of course a super predictable ending.

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This movie is a little bit childish and I believe it will be enjoyed more by teenagers. However it is watchable and the special effects are good. The acting is also good. But it wasn't as good as I had hoped. It 's not really a movie about Mars or how it could affect the first human born there but a love story between two teenagers.

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Is there anything more infuriating than people who know nothing about science trying to make a film/write a book about science? It seems like they didn't have a single person on board who knew anything about ANYTHING. I'm not even a scientist and I could have come up with a dozen ways to work around all these 'issues' that were driving the story onward.
This film is a plot hole after another plot hole, the most infuriating part being that the whole story didn't need to happen.
!!!!!Here come the spoilers!!!!!!:
1. There's no way the mother would have passed the health checks while being pregnant. They're pretty thorough. Not only that, she appeared to be a good 5+ months pregnant when the mission started - absolutely no way in hell no one would have realised (even discounting the vigorous health checks).
2. WTF did they feed the newborn baby? The mother died, and I presume no one thought to pack baby formula for the astronauts to drink.
3. They could have brought the child back when the mission was due to return. First of all, 2/3 gravity isn't a big enough difference to even on its own to cause irreparable damage. I'm certain they could have helped get his body used to a higher gravity by exercising him and making him wear weights or something. Even without all that, they could have simply helped his body and his heart adjust to Earth's high gravity by for example putting him in a freaking water tank, idk. There are ways.
4. He (Gardner) has instantaneous communication with earth, and access to the internet (and presumably everything it has to offer), he's apparently a genius, and he was indeed raised among humans - even if they were only 'scientists', rather than 'loving parents' who would teach him all about life - yet somehow half the time he's acting like a socially retarded 5-year-old who has never seen even a picture of horse?! Uh-huh. This whole person-from-a-different-time-or-space-is- overwhelmed-by-the-present thing has been done a million times before; it's an old joke, and this time they failed massively.
5. Even though he's now old he could have still done the physical therapy I mentioned earlier. Better late than never!
6. I love how in the beginning of the film they make a point to mention that Earth's resources are pretty much depleted and all that jazz, but then 16 years later they can afford to send a rocket to space just to send a Martian and his father back home. You know how many resources it takes to build a rocket and fuel it? Even if the rocket was part of a mission that was already going there (conveniently leaving so soon after Gardner nearly died), those seats are valuable, and there are no spares.
Alas, that's not even all of it, but those are the biggest, most glaring plot holes that drove me nuts due to the fact that they rendered the whole film pointless.
And all this is ignoring the generally poor story line, shallow character design, crappy writing, and mediocre acting. Ugh.

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The screenplay mechanisms which lay out the overall story (space boy wants to live on earth and meet up with pen-pal girl and unknown father) are consistently forced, clunky, and a distraction to the point of being groan-worthy.
A little more behavioral (her portrayal of anger and angst, et al., was over the top) and physiological realism (his repeated on-screen sprinting, his bone-strengthening 'operation,' et al., were a joke) would have given the story more credibility. All the casting, special effect, locational ingredients were in place, but were wasted for the lack of a believable and more seamless script.
Films that fall considerably short like this make one realize how very special those movies are that are able to put all the movie making elements together and entertain the eye, heart, and intellect.
P.S. This movie will most certainly be viewed by and be appealing to young impressionistic teens, and to the extent that the content of movies seeps into their subconscious and affects future behavior, the multiple carefree auto thefts with no consequence, and more particularly the glorified attempted suicide-by-drowning scene at the end were very poor, unnecessary, and irresponsible story-line choices.

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I swear this movie was written by a 14 year old. The depictions of science, adults, money, cars, explosions, technology, parenting, office buildings, law enforcement, progression of seasons, gravity, global warming, and magnets are obviously from the viewpoint of someone with no experience with any of the above topics. If Capri Sun produced Interstellar, it might look like this.

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It's very hard to find something new in the movies today, but this film felt very fresh from everything else out there. The premise of the story is very unique and different. The acting is very good. After a shocking twist, the end turns out a little bit predictable but I didn't really mind... at all. I really enjoyed watching this film. Totally recommended.

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You know how it goes. The boy (Asa Butterfield) meets the girl (Britt Robertson), there's mutual liking and they want to meet... but there's a space between them. So he will travel to Earth from the Mars colony where he was born.
Also starring: Gary Oldman, Carla Gugino, and B.D. Wong, because even the coolest teenagers need some adults around.
'The Space Between Us' rides on the current wave of Young Adult, or YA for short, novels and movies which has dowsed the cinemas for the last ten years or so.
It's still about romance, some sci-fi and action like the most of them (or at least the most popular of them) but it brings some refreshing changes to the menu.
It's based on an original screenplay and not novel. It offers sci-fi and action without relying on done to death YA clichés (dystopian society, dating or fighting supernatural beings, etc). It puts characters in real danger so you can't always predict whether everybody's gonna make it. It doesn't have clear-cut good and bad guys...
And last but by far not least, the movie has a nice classic Steven Spielberg-ian feel which puts the sense of wonder and adventure back to sci-fi which, in my humble opinion, is often missing or buried under all those visual effects and pizazz setpieces.
Even good old Spielberg himself is not always able to pull it off: the movie makes you actually care about the characters because there's a real human backbone to the story. It's entertainment but it also has heart.
All this rests very much on the lead man Asa Butterfield who was 18 during the filming and turns 20 this April.
Former child star of 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas', Scorsese's 'Hugo' and 'Ender's Game' fame, this guy has grown to become a fine young actor indeed.
I very much enjoyed his soft but sure performance as an innocent and fragile alien braving the world unknown to him. He has found a seemingly perfect balance between strange, childlike and soulful that the role asks of him, and I'd be glad to see him getting some awards or nominations for this standout work.
He even has this memorable, Pinocchio-ish appearance and style of moving which seems suitable for a person not used to Earth's gravity.
The other characters stay more in the background, so this turns out to be Asa Butterfield's show, and he more than fulfills the promise.
The next most interesting performance comes from Oldman who ventures in the land of brashness and theatricality, in a good way. The aging thespian hasn't offered this kind of colorfulness for quite some time (in a big movie, at least) and I enjoyed it to the point of feeling that his character was underused. Holding him in the background makes sense in the context of a whole story, though.
If you find my score surprisingly high, please remember that it's made for a YA crowd, or at least a teenager in all of us. I would not recommend it alongside 8 out of 10 movies made for older viewer groups. Probably.
But 8 is not too generous. I liked 'Space' very much and its overall quality more than compensates a shallow story which surely would work better longer. This could be a bona fide modern classic if the characters and events had more room to develop and breathe. Maybe in the form of (mini-)series or something.
If you like 'The Space Between Us' and look for something similar to watch, I would recommend 2014's 'The Fault in Our Stars' for moving YA story, or 2015's 'Tomorrowland' as an uneven but good example of how to combine sci-fi and action in a YA movie.
I choose to end this review with an off-topic anecdote which I just happen to like very much:
Q: Why did astronaut leave his wife? A: He needed more space

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This is basically a movie about two teenagers on the run. They meet for the first time. The girl is streetwise and assertive. The boy is geeky and naive. They drive off through an America with lots of great scenery, and there's humour and romance and some feel good music. This is what is at the heart of the movie and it works well.
What doesn't work well is the back story, about the boy being born on mars. It makes for a pretty uneven film that starts out as a sci-fi movie with a crew of astronauts heading out to the stars, then morphs into something completely different. The special effects in space are wasted, because this part of the story didn't really need to be shown. Plus, some of the incidental music doesn't work too well.
The makers should've just stuck to the story of a lost boy who wanted to see the world, and a girl who just didn't fit in and was willing to show it to him.

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Don't be confused, this is a teen romance picture. It's just that one teen is from Earth, and the other is from Mars. I actually found it very sweet. Mars boy without a clue, and Earth girl with all the answers. Great acting, great direction, fantastic score. The special effect were a bit dodgy. This film was was supposed to come out in August, then pulled to December, and now it's released in February. Please see this film!!! I found it very uplifting. The performances of Asa Butterfield, Britt Robertson, Gary Oldman, Carla Gugino, and BD Wong are fantastic. I have to keep writing because IMDb won't let a review of anything less than 10 lines ling post. Did I mention this is a kid friendly film? Thank you.

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It's rare that I find a movie that my wife and I both like. She's more of a Hallmark movie type; I'm a little more cerebral. But we both enjoyed it. Sure, there are some implausible plot points and bad science, but not enough to destroy the movie. I've seen worse science in some of the Star Trek films. I wish they had budgeted enough for a more plausible future; going to Sam's and playing 2016 Yamaha keyboards probably bugged me more than anything else There's some nice camera-work and a sweeping score. The ending is good enough - satisfying but not too cheesy. The two kids bring you into the story. Get off your high horse and enjoy it.

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The Space Between Us cannot be any cheesier with its poor acting and direction in a romantic sci- fi concept that is surely forgettable once it ends. I thought the concept was slightly different for a romantic film about a boy that was born on Mars and is fast maturing to the part were he wants to seek and socialize with others that is on Earth. The only cache about him visiting earth is his body is not well adapted and he suffers from osteogenesis, which he needs to go back to an area with less gravity. The Space Between Us suffers from the cliché romantic story, poor direction that makes you wonder what kind of tone the director was trying to aim for. And the acting was stale from everyone. Which is sad cause these are talented actors in a poorly written script.
Gardner (Asa Butterfield) was born and raised on Mars. Fast growing and wants to visit Earth to search for his father. Nathaniel (Gary Oldman) CEO of the launch program tried to cover up the story of one of his astronauts going on the mission pregnant which she did not realize until on the space station. Kendra (Carla Gugino) is Gardner's guardian and tries to make sure he is safe when entering Earth's atmosphere cause of his osteogenesis condition. Once on Earth, Gardner escapes the facility he is being held up on away from Nathaniel and Kendra so he can go searching for his father. He will need help from a high school girl Tulsa (Britt Robertson). The girl he has been messaging when he was on Mars. They both go out on a chase and hunt for his father whereabouts. While Gardner is seeing the world for the first time through his eyes.
It has an interesting concept but is weighed down by a cliché script. It has a teen boy Gardner, who is becoming a rebel against his guardian Kendra and wanting to see the world for the first time. Then, there is Tulsa who is the cliché out of all of them. May see this trait in other romantic movies before. She is raised by a deadbeat father. She is the responsible one and wants to escape from home when she turns 18. Sure, script gets unbelievable with the characters like her dead beat father acting like a child as he is drunk. And the daughter smart decision is forcing him to go to work as a crop duster on a plane. Father suggest his teen daughter flies for him.
What's even worse with the film is the direction. Its suppose to be a romantic sci-fi film about a growing up story with a teen seeing Earth for the first time. The direction has some unnecessary camera shots of Nathaniel walking on a carless highway with the sunset in the background. Sure, this camera set up is in action movies but this fails at it and it's cheesy when it is shown.
The cast is talented but everyone's performance in the movie is terrible and flat. Gary Oldman is overreacting with every one of his lines. Asa Butterfield tries to be awkward but seems like it is done attentionally. Carla Gugino seems bored with her role. Britt Robertson seems like the only one invested in her character from what she can work with.
Overall, The Space Between Us is a bad film. Direction, the script, and acting is terrible. Has no idea on what it is trying to do with its tone. Seems like its suppose to be serious with its sci-fi growing up tale but looks laughable with its direction.

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I WANTED to love this movie. But this movie needed at least two re-writes and they said no. The actors did their job but the story was weak. And it was so Ham-handed with the romantic bull. I am really angry in the sense that this will inspire Hollywood not to make scifi movies -

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I was confused because I expected SF movie. Unfortunately it is just another example of bad science in the movie. I takes 4 min for light to travel between Earth and Mars so you can't chat or phone Earth because it needs 8 min to get response. The mars gravity is neglected in most of the scenes and scientists like in most SF movies are psychotic and not educated. Its just horrible drama and poor romance with bad acting. I feel pity for Gary Oldman.

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This is my first time reviewing a movie on IMDb. Why? Because, this movie needs one. I felt so bad for Gary Oldman. I mean, I know he's getting paid for it and all, but it felt like a waste of talent.
I don't know if I'm not the right demographic (age 27) or what, but if I had one word to describe this movie it would be 'cringeworthy.' While watching the cinema, I wished I had a turtle shell, so I hide myself from the terrible script, the random shaky shots, the terrible music (okay there was this one song I liked, the one she plays while inside the truck), the blatant attempt to do interracial mixing that lasts for 5 seconds of a five hour movie.
Why did I watch this? Why didn't I watch Hidden figures instead. Money wasted. Time wasted. Do not go to the cinema to watch this. Don't even wait for it on DVD. Don't even pirate it. One day when you're at someone's office or waiting in the lobby somewhere, this movie is going to come on. This is the movie you watch while waiting for something else important to happen.

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I tried to watch it till the end but just could not finish it. It's hard to pinpoint why this movie sucks so bad because there are so many flaws. All I can say is that some people will waste time and money on this piece of garbage. Do yourself a favor, avoid this film because most people will be hugely disappointed.

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Unless you wish to become accustomed to vomiting in your mouth, swallowing it, and repeating ad nauseum, avoid this movie or fetch a sofa-side bucket. The 'romance' between the two main characters is cheesy and unconvincing and will make you sick to the teeth. He looks about 12, she's probably pushing 30. All kinds of stupid and wrong. I give it a 2 just because its got 'Mars' in it.

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Don't waste your time on this awful movie.Where do I begin, the acting is the most terrible thing in this movie, even though there are great actors/actresses involved in it. I think it's mostly due to the terrible director. There are scenes where you see things imagined in the future that don't make any sense. When I saw it I said the director must be really old and doesn't know anything about technology and all. And I was right, he's too old school to have a realistic vision of the future.
I would say that during the making the whole team was too lazy to try to perfect the scenes, this is the only explanation that I could come up with. By the way, the whole story isn't that interesting. It's like someone said to himself 'what if someone was born on Mars? let's make a movie about it' I mean, how the heck did a pregnant woman get into a spaceship in the first place??!!. These are not the places where people get to make such mistakes. The crew must have gone through a thorough examination prior to their trip. Especially, right before they leave. And yeah, the boy had to be so stubborn, even though he never been in touch with other children, he only lived with old scientists. How did he get this childish attitude? genetics?
There are things that just ridiculous like transparent laptops that allow any stranger to peek into what the user is doing!! and they are huge, like why would a student carry a glass made, transparent laptop to school when you have Ultrabooks that are smaller, lighter, and give you more privacy. Just like I said, the director is too old to imagine such things, and the whole crew is too lazy to point out the issue to the director, they just want to get paid regardless of the final outcome.
I honestly couldn't go through the first hour of the movie, it's ridiculous.

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I didn't go into this movie expecting much – certainly not amazing space shots, or extraordinary visual artistry – but I was absolutely taken with this film. Asa Butterfield stole my heart away in the film Hugo and in this picture, he is once again ideally cast. He is wonderful as Gardner Elliot, the first baby born on Mars, trying to find himself, love, and what earth is all about. Carla Gugino as 'the best mother he never had' is also perfectly cast. I was impressed, also, by Gary Oldman. Britt Robertson as Tulsa, the street smart kid Gardner connects with on earth is okay, but why is it that every time I look at her I see a young Renee Zellweger before she had her face totally redone and became somebody else? I think it's maybe the mouth, not sure, but I kept seeing Zellweger anyway. Not that she didn't do a good job, because she did. Perhaps a bit over the top on occasion, but that's likely due to her script more than anything. All in all, this is a beautiful story. And I was surprised to see places here on earth with a new eye – 'What's your most favorite part about Earth?' – and the beauty of it all. The sensory overload in Las Vegas was absolutely believable and fitting. I really did enjoy this movie and will likely buy it when it comes out in DVD. I liked it that much.

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Sad remake of the movie 'The Boy in the Plastic Bubble', without the excuse of being a made-for- TV movie or the excuse of it being 1976. I was going to say it was a pathetic excuse for a John Hughes teenybopper ripoff, but then I recalled Home Alone 3... If you're over 13 years of age, probably not the movie for you.

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Well, saw this in the theater last night...
As a huge fan and admirer of Asa Butterfield's talent... I was really looking forward to this...
Instead...??? I found a childish plot, sloppy storytelling, poor direction, questionable acting performances... and the major plot twist... basically telegraphed, from the start.
So sad... Asa Butterfield deserves FAR BETTER motion pictures than this poor excuse for a motion picture...
What was he thinking, when he signed on for this lame project??? Next???

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A cool idea and great performances, especially Britt and Gary, OK, Asa's performance was exaggerated (but that was his role), and you can see the quality of this young man.
A teenage romance? Yes, that's beautiful, it's a beautiful story that no one, no matter how old are you, will not be happy to see and feel again. This is a good and beautiful movie... has its fun moments, a sort of action, romance without being cloying, and a great message of love and search beyond boundaries.
In addition, it has many really beautiful images of earth and mars (real or CGI; but very good worked).
Spoiler: Do not let the error in communications be a factor for the complaint ... it's the fiction role.

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This movie was a good Sci-Fi adventure movie mixed with some romance and fantasy. My friends and I went to see this together and we all loved it. It has the perfect amount of adventure, cliffhangers, plot twist, and romance. The ending definitely leads me to believe there might be a second movie. This movie can be a bit cheesy at times, but all around I thought it left a great message. I like how one of the characters that isn't from Earth goes from living on Mars to Earth and there is a big change in environment and when he meets the girl from Earth that he has been instant messaging from Mars and follows her around like he knows what he's doing. I also think that the two main actors, Asa Butterfield and Britt Robertson, did a great job portraying their characters and they were a perfect fit for their part.

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A nice movie to watch. My heart bleeds when an intelligent & inquisitive boy return into his homeland. But can't wait when his love of his life will become an astronaut too. Despite the distance and the loneliness good thing is he is with his father now. 'What is your favorite thing on Earth?'
Hoping for a part 2 when Tulsa finally become an Astronaut. And made a 2nd Person born in planet Mars....

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