George Clooney’s much-anticipated The Midnight Sky premieres this Wednesday on Netflix, but is it worth your time?
The film, which is directed by Clooney. and stars the Ocean’s Eleven actor, features a scientist (Clooney) who traverses the Arctic Circle with a young girl to stop a group of orbiting astronauts from returning to a coming disaster on Earth. The cast also includes Kyle Chandler and Felicity Jones.
There has been talk of Oscar nods for The Midnight Sky, particularly for Clooney’s performance in the lead. But Rottentomatoes.com gives the film a score of just 55. The site states: “The Midnight Sky lacks the dramatic heft to match its narrative scale, but its flaws are often balanced by thoughtful themes and a poignant performance from director-star George Clooney.”
However, other reviews are kinder. For example, Tim Appelo of AARP’s Movies For Grown Ups acknowledges that Clooney’s “plot has fuzzy logic and the characters are a bit sketchy. Still, there’s about an hour’s worth of epic, ambitious, thoughtful, deeply heartfelt story in there. Clooney remains one of our most promising up-and-coming directors.”
And Michael O’Sullivan of The Washington Post writes that “slyly, and by misdirection that cleverly conceals its true intent until the poignant end, it reveals itself to be a story of regret over a lost opportunity for connection.” O’Sullivan gives the film four stars out of five.
Bottom line: If you like Clooney, and apocalyptic tales with a squirt of a global warming alert, you’ll probably like The Midnight Sky.
By the way, this is Clooney’s seventh movie in the director’s chair. He previously helmed Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Good Night and Good Luck, Leatherheads, The Ides of March, The Monuments Men, and Suburbicon.
Featured image: George Clooney in The Midnight Sky.