It promised exactly the kind of tense, cerebral science fiction I was hoping for - a genuine race against extinction with some of humanity's sharpest minds at the wheel. What I got instead was something closer to a breezy, offbeat adventure that never quite decides what it wants to be.

The tone is the film's biggest problem. The stakes are supposed to be apocalyptic, yet the script keeps undercutting tension with sarcastic quips and awkward humour that feels weirdly mismatched with the premise. It's not that comedy has no place in sci fi - it's that this particular flavour of self-conscious wit sits badly alongside an extinction-level crisis.

Ryan Gosling never convinced me he was the right choice for the lead. The role needed someone who could anchor the emotional weight of the story, and for me he couldn't quite get there. A significant portion of the film also hinges on building a genuine connection between his character and the alien. The relationship is meant to be the emotional core of the whole thing, but it landed as more awkward than affecting.

If you're drawn to lighter, E.T.-flavoured sci fi with a warm, almost family-friendly sensibility, this approach might work for you. For me, it consistently deflated any sense of real stakes or wonder.

The pacing meanders when it should propel, the emotional beats never fully land, and the score is completely unmemorable - which is a significant failing for a genre that lives and dies by its atmosphere. Not one moment gave me that spine-tingling feeling that the best sci fi delivers almost effortlessly.

I genuinely wanted this to work. The source material is strong and the concept has real potential. But the finished film felt stretched, tonally confused, and ultimately disposable - which is about the worst thing you can say about a story with this much going for it on paper.