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Rubikon (2022) Movie Review ‘Complex & Thoughtful Sci-Fi Movie’

Rubikon – Complex & Thoughtful Sci-Fi Movie

Director: Magdalena Lauritsch

Writer: Magdalena Lauritsch, Jessica Lind (Screenplay)

Starring: Julia Franz Richter, George Blagden, Mark Ivanir, Nicholas Monu, Daniela Kong, Konstantin Frolov

Plot: Following a catastrophe on Earth, the planet is covered in a toxic fog. The crew in the space station, must decide whether to risk their lives to get home and search for survivors. Or stay safe in the station’s “algae symbiosis system”.

Runtime: 1 Hour 49 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Rubikon starts as Commander Hannah Wagner (Richter) and Gavin Abbott (Blagden) arrive at the space station Rubikon. Above the Earth, an Earth covered in a toxic fog, with only pockets of survivors. Hannah and Gavin are replacing the existing team on the space station, remaining with Doctor Dimitri Krylow (Ivanir).

When the returning crew suffering a horrendous incident in the return. The Rubikon can’t get communication, the big question for Hannah, Gavin and Dimitri. Is whether they look for survivors, or continue the missing through space.

Thoughts on Rubikon

Characters & Performances

Commander Hannah Wagner is leading the new team sent to the Rubikon. She is waiting for loved ones to join her, while taking command from the previous team. Hannah will take control in a fair manner. Defusing any problems in the hand over and look for solutions when the team’s return flight goes wrong. She will bring the remaining team together to search for a logical solution. After losing contact with Earth, showing the leadership in the search for answers.

Gavin Abbott is the man joining Hannah for the early handover. A man that understands the computer system. Can search for problems, while using his skills to understand the problems communicating with Earth.

Dimitri Krylow is the scientist on the space station. The man using his research to develop the algae that is being used to sustain life in space for a prolonged amount of time.

Julia Franz Richter, George Blagden and Mar Ivanir give us great performances that will be filled with difficult decisions. Showing the reactions to this happening.

Story

Rubikon follows a small team on a space station. Who after a disaster on Earth find themselves needing to make the difficult decisions. About whether to wait and see if anyone is still alive or start the mission to stay on the station.

Magdalena Lauritsch’s directorial debut brings us a story that doesn’t look to give us the flashy sci-fi moments. Focusing on the dilemma needed to be made by the astronauts about how much is worth risking saving humanity. Without any signs of life to get to Earth without danger.

The story puts everything into the human factors about a cataclysmic event on Earth. Something that is addressed in the opening sequence, with the line mentioning not putting decisions down to human error.

Themes

Rubikon brings us a sci-fi movie set on a space station above Earth. Showing us the safe haven, the crew finds themselves in, while conducting research. Which could save humanity, after event on Earth causes a toxic fog storm. The effects in the movie will are kept to the minimum, with anything happening off camera, showing the reactions to the events.

Signature Entertainment presents Rubikon on Digital Platforms and DVD on July 11^th.

Final Thoughts – Rubikon is a thoughtful sci-fi movie, leaving you wondering what you would do in the same situation.

7 Essential Space Movies to Watch Before Magdalena Lauritsch’s ‘Rubikon’

Rubikon gets released by Signature Entertainment on 11^th July 2022. Following a crew in a space station who must decide whether to risk their lives in returning to Earth. Searching for survivors from a toxic fog that has covered the Earth or stay in the safety of the space station. The full review of Rubikon will be available in a couple of days. With the idea today to suggest a couple of movies you could watch before seeing Rubikon, with the biggest point being about the human confliction of problems faced in space.

Moon

Duncan Jones Moon follows a lone astronaut Sam Bell who is on his stint on the moon base. When he has a quintessentially personal encounter towards the end of his stint. That will make him question everything he knows about the mission he is on. Sam Rockwell is fantastic in this lone role, which will see the bigger life decisions come to his character after the discovery. Which will ask you as well as him the bigger question about why we are doing the things we do.

Sunshine

Danny Boyle’s exceptional Sunshine follows an international team of astronauts that are sent on a mission to restart the dying sun with a nuclear fission bomb. Only for them to come across problems on their journey. In Sunshine the crew will have their own skills, meaning decisions are made on expert opinions over voting. Giving the characters a chance to look at the decisions being made in a way of looking at is the danger worth the reward.

This aspect of the story is by far one of the most interesting sides to this story, as well as having an all star cast in the movie. Including ‘Captain America’ Chris Evans, ‘Bridesmaids’ Rose Byrne, ‘Peaky Blinders’ Cillian Murphy, ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Michelle Yeoh, ‘The Meg’ Cliff Curtis, ‘Doctor Strange’ Benedict Wong, ‘The Last Samurai’ Hiroyuki Sanada and ‘1917’ Mark Strong.

Pandorum

Christian Alvart’s Pandorum follows two crew members who wake up from hypersleep. Only to find the spaceship off course and nobody waiting to swap with them. Leaving them to figure out what has happened on board, where they are not alone anymore. Pandorum might not put everything down to the pure decision-making process. It will see the people needing to survive, after a disaster has led them to search for a new home, keeping everything human or evolution of humanity based.

High Life

Claire Denis’s High Life follows a father and daughter struggling to survive deep space travel where they live in isolation. After the ship gets put in an unimaginable situation after cosmic rays hit the ship. High Life will look at a different subject to most of the rest. Seeing how deep space travel could be survived with people needing to be able to reproduce in space. If they are to remain awake, with this one diving into the must more horrific side to everything involved with deep space travel.

Life

Daniel Espinosa’s Life follows a team of scientists on the international space station. Discovering a new life form that might have been the cause for extinction on Mars. Which would bring devastation if it ever made it back to Earth. Life is the only movie on this life that will use aliens in the plot, with the only reason it being on the list. Is because of the fact it will be dealing with the human factor of needing to learn about a potential new threat. While also needing to stop it reaching Earth. Putting the scientists into a difficult decision about how far they will let the life form evolve, before it becomes uncontrollable.

Ad Astra

James Gray’s Ad Astra follows an astronaut Roy McBride. Who is given a mission to travel across the Solar System in search of answers about his father’s mission. Who was lost over 30 years ago, only for it to have returned, with a potential threat for the universe. Roy is a very distant human, that shows no emotion. He is a perfect subject for a mission that is about keeping calm and reaching out. It what is one of the most beautiful sci-fi movies of recent years. We get to see this amazing journey across the Solar System. Giving us stunning colouring for each planet and a journey that is about saving the world.

Gravity

Alfonso Cuaron’s Oscar Winning Gravity completes this list. Following the two astronauts who find themselves floating around the Earth must work together to figure out a way to get to safety before their oxygen runs out. Gravity is the ultimate story about surviving. In a place where getting on a ship would be the only solution to this. It is incredibly intense with how the story unfolds. Leaving us on the edge of our seats, waiting to see if they can survive the disaster.