"The Space Between Us" takes an interesting premise, an Earth-conceived child born on Mars, and focus on just about everything else, essentially turning it into a road movie. The Martian has set a high bar for movies set on or about Mars and this one doesn't come close to being as good. For one, it's in a hurry to get the main character, 16-year-old Gardiner Elliott ) Asa Butterfield off Mars so there's very little Mars in the story, other than the lower gravity on Mars creates health problems for Gardiner when he gets to Earth. Because Gardiner lost his mother at birth, he's anxious to know who his father is, hence his desire to come to Earth. Plus he's established a pen-pal-type relationship via video conference with Tulsa (Britt Robertson), a tough, savvy loner.
The writers didn't even try to incorporate science into their script because all of those video conferences showed no time differential between Earth and Mars; it was instant communication. And as The Martian revealed, science can only make a good script all the better. But it seems no one was interested in being even close to realistic. The performances of leads Asa Butterfield and Britt Robertson are solid, but there's so much happening with the story you're not sure if the focus is romance, Gardiner's search for his father, or the danger he's put himself in by escaping those who monitor his health. "The Space Between Us" has everything but the kitchen sink, but, unfortunately, that doesn't make for a satisfying movie.
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