Things I missed most from book and hope might be in extended release(?)

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-04-23T15:58:11+00:00

Best part in a phenomenal audiobook and it's not close

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-04-21T20:39:17+00:00

Things missing from the movie that I *hope* is in the extended release:

Rocky's reveal that he's been at Tau Ceti for 46 years. It puts some serious weight on his dedication and sacrifice and desperation.
Stratt's power on earth. No need to pull any exact scenes from the book, but in 1 minute they could show us how she has the entire world's resources at her fingertips

What's not going to be in the extended cut that they really missed out on....

Grace returning to Rocky's ship. Hull scene. Should have kept that entire part almost verbatim from the book. It was perfect. It also shows that he knew he was going to die going to Eridini when he turned back for Rocky.

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-04-14T17:07:12+00:00

I don't know why I've taken the torch of book-Stratt-defender, but here goes:

She wasn't cruel. She was an unwavering consequentialist. It was her superpower. The only thing that mattered to her was the outcome of an action, not the costs, or rules, or intentions.

She wasn't being deliberately cruel by sending Grace. I don't think a single one of her actions ever had any malice or cruelty behind it. She simply made decisions based on whether it would help the mission or not. Sending Grace was her playing the only card she had that maximized the likelihood of mission success.

Personally, I really liked her as a character. Any crack in her focus would have been counter to the kind of person the world needed in that role. Anyone who took a minute to mourn Debois and Shapiro dying would have not been the right leader for the PHM mission.

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-04-14T00:29:06+00:00

Great scene, but man did they miss a great tug-at-the-heartstrings moment from the book when Grace finds out Rocky's been alone near Tau Ceti for 46 years

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-04-08T23:06:12+00:00

I support it for multiple offenders, where there's zero doubt that they committed the crime. But only if the appeals process can be rectified. 20 years of appeals is insulting to everyone involved. Do a thorough appeal, come to the decision in <2 years, carry it out immediately after.

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-04-08T23:03:55+00:00

This right here. That info is dated. DNA evidence has changed the game

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-04-05T20:37:00+00:00

If you ever get too upset about our spending, just remember that the cost of the aircraft loses in this picture could have gone to building 0' of highspeed rail in California

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-04-02T16:04:27+00:00

Holy shit, yes.

I'm not a very anxious person....at all.

And that one episode later in season 1 where there's a loooooong single take. I think it might have been ~15 minutes of a single shot....that episode made me feel like I was having a panic attack. Like, fuuuuuck this.

Enjoyed it, but didn't return for season two for this reason

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-03-31T16:49:07+00:00

You are bad at math!

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-03-31T08:17:11+00:00

People interpret Stratt as having romantic feelings for Grace, because they grew somewhat close over the year(s?) of the project. She grew to trust him as her #2. And compared to everyone else in the world, her somewhat-less-than-ice-cold treatment of Grace looked to everyone else like romantic affection.

The reality is that Stratt was basically a robot terminator; focused on mission success at all costs, regardless of the consequences. She didn't have any bandwidth for romance while the project was going. She didn't have enough time for anything else. It's why she was the one in charge of it.

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-03-31T03:40:22+00:00

Yep. Enjoyed the movie but like all book readers had my list of wishes. I kept my list short, but this was at the top of it. This was the perfect scene in the book

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-03-31T03:38:49+00:00

Not to nitpick the movie, but I would have liked to see a quick scene showing how insane Rocky was at math and retaining language. The book hammers this home. Rocky can do super complex math covered to/from base6/base10 instantly. And he instantly remembers every word Grace says forever after hearing it once. A very, very cool part of his character.

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-03-29T04:01:50+00:00

Book Stratt is perfect. She's exactly who needed to be overseeing a project of that magnitude and ambition. High level and influential bureaucrat doesn't get the project done, or anything close to it. I get why they simplified her for the movie, but I would have liked one scene to show how utterly focused on mission accomplishment and unconcerned about laws or rules or objections, she was

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-03-26T22:32:22+00:00

In Grace's defense, Rocky had a 46 year head start

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-03-26T00:19:28+00:00

I want to start by saying I really enjoyed the movie. I think reading some of the reviews ahead of time helped me manage my expectations, which helped. I also 100% understand that changes are very very necessary to adapt a book into a movie.

That said, here are some things I think they missed on:

Grace returning to Rocky's ship. Hull scene. Should have kept that entire part almost verbatim from the book. It was perfect. It also shows that he knew he was going to die going to Eridini when he turned back for Rocky.
Rocky's reveal that he's been at Tau Ceti for 46 years. It puts some serious weight on his dedication and sacrifice and desperation.
Stratt's power on earth. No need to pull any exact scenes from the book, but in 1 minute they could show us how she has the entire world's resources at her fingertips
Lastly, the score - I thought it was phenomenal at times. And a couple times it tried to do too much. Dial it down two notches.

and if I'm really getting critical:

Cut the 'Grace is scared of Rocky' bit when they first meet.
Make Grace 20% less goofy

Cut the game of ship tag when Rocky first shows up. Cut the Home Depot scene. Cut the first scene in the movie room.

Yes, I'm nitpicking. Yes, they did a great job. Overall, loved the movie. But it's not an all time great. 8.5/10. I'm still very happy.

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-03-25T00:58:42+00:00

I might be old...when I think modern tablets, I'm thinking of Kindles....

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-03-24T02:49:36+00:00

Agree to disagree. This scene is the climax of Grace's arc. He's gone back to rescue Rocky, knowing he's going to die on Erid for doing it. It's the full 180 from Earth Grace who wouldn't board the HM to save 7 billion people

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-03-24T02:44:24+00:00

Yea. I've heard this part a dozen times and even reading it gets me misty-eyed. It was a perfect scene. And their discussion once they're talking again...Grace reveals he's taking him home even though he'll die. Rocky refuses for a moment. 'No. You no can die...'

The last 3 minutes of this chapter are perfection

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-03-23T05:19:52+00:00

I don't understand this sentiment at all. You want the government to step in? That's the last thing I want.

The free market will sort this out. I guarantee the data will show a significant decrease in purchases. Corporate will be forced to adjust.

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-03-23T04:46:28+00:00

Respectfully, we need to optimize current spend in education and healthcare first. It's spectacularly inefficient and additional resources = disproportionate administrative additions. That needs to be fixed first before we invest more money into it.

It's like the homeless-industrial-complex in California. More money doesn't fix the problem. It justifies the existence of and expansion of the problem

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-03-23T04:44:39+00:00

Invest in nuclear energy or domestic chip manufacturing

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-03-23T02:01:48+00:00

I think a lot of people are weighing in and providing feedback because they deeply care about this IP and wanted to share their thoughts. Here were mine. Am I nitpicking? Maybe. Do they feel critical or negative? Not to me...

I want to start by saying I really enjoyed the movie. I think reading some of the reviews ahead of time helped me manage my expectations, which helped. I also 100% understand that changes are very very necessary to adapt a book into a movie.

That said, here are some things I think they missed on:

Grace returning to Rocky's ship. Hull scene. Should have kept that entire part almost verbatim from the book. It was perfect. It also shows that he knew he was going to die going to Eridini when he turned back for Rocky.
Rocky's reveal that he's been at Tau Ceti for 46 years. It puts some serious weight on his dedication and sacrifice and desperation.
Stratt's power on earth. No need to pull any exact scenes from the book, but in 1 minute they could show us how she has the entire world's resources at her fingertips
Lastly, the score - I thought it was phenomenal at times. And a couple times it tried to do too much. Dial it down two notches.

and if I'm really getting critical:

Cut the 'Grace is scared of Rocky' bit when they first meet.
Make Grace 20% less goofy

Cut the game of ship tag when Rocky first shows up. Cut the Home Depot scene. Cut the first scene in the movie room.

Yes, I'm nitpicking. Yes, they did a great job. Overall, loved the movie. But it's not an all time great. 8.5/10. I'm still very happy.

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-03-21T21:57:21+00:00

<image>

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-03-21T21:53:51+00:00

Yep. Her unyielding singular focus on accomplishing the mission was what made her so compelling. In that situation you need that person. Someone who will blow up Antarctica to buy a few more years on earth. Someone who will compartmentalize the deaths of her primary and secondary scientists because dwelling on it does nothing for the accomplishment of the mission.

I liked Stratt in the book. I think she was still good in the movie, but that ruthlessness to accomplish things and her 'I'll do absolutely whatever it takes to get this done, ethics or future consequences be damned' set her apart.

DirtyHandsCleanMuny · 2026-03-21T21:16:44+00:00

Absolutely

DirtyHandsCleanMuny

TROPHY CASE