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From Amazon.co.uk
An intriguingly creepy premise but failed execution marks The Astronaut's Wife, a stylish and ultimately bland thriller about a pretty, young woman whose pretty, young astronaut husband comes back from his most recent space mission a little... odd. Before that fated space trip, Spencer (Johnny Depp) and Jillian (Charlize Theron) were a sunny, happy couple with matching blonde hairdos and a predilection for romping in the sack from extremely clever camera angles. However, after a communications blackout brings Spencer and his partner back down to earth prematurely, things are a little... peculiar. Spencer's partner goes bonkers and has a heart attack; on top of that, the partner's wife takes a fatal shower with a plugged-in radio. Getting out of the space biz, Spencer accepts a job as a corporate exec in New York, and as a welcome to the Big Apple for his comely wife, he molests her at the company cocktail party. Soon enough, Jillian is pregnant, but as you might expect, this pregnancy (twins, don't you know) is a little... unusual. Writer-director Rand Ravich takes his sweet time getting from extremely obvious plot point A to even more obvious plot point B, stretching out the development particulars in mind-numbing, suspense-killing fashion. Even Joe Morton, as a sinisterly psychotic NASA official, can't liven things up--you know you're in bad thriller territory when the biggest scare comes from a light suddenly being switched off. Theron, sporting a Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby style haircut, sleepwalks beautifully through the movie, but she did this role much, much better in The Devil's Advocate. Depp, with a cornpone Southern accent, is about as realistic as his peroxided hair. Ravich does the viewer no favours with a hackneyed ending straight out of a B-grade paperback horror novel in which the most shocking moment is Theron's sudden emergence as a brunette. With Blair Brown as a jaded socialite who offers to help out Theron by providing do-it-yourself abortion pills, and a lovely Donna Murphy as the suicidal wife who figures it all out before everyone else. -- Mark Englehart, Amazon.com
Product Description
On a seemingly routine mission to repair a space satellite, astronaut Spencer Armacost (Johnny Depp) loses contact with Mission Control for a period of time. Once Spencer has returned to Earth his wife Jillian (Charlize Theron) falls pregnant with twin boys, but her joy is tempered by the suspicion that something terrible happened to her husband in space - something which could threaten the entire human race.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By V. WILLIAMS
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Now I like Johnny Depp a lot, but I feel that this movie does not extract the full measure of talent he has to offer and that's not any fault of his.
Both lead roles are played smack bang on. Charlize Theron is stunning and well cast as ever.
Perhaps it is because JD's character is wiped out by some nebulous alien entity within 15 minutes and thereafter is a pretty cold fish and unsympathetic to boot. I suppose that a creature able to travel at light speed without the need for a spaceship or spacesuit will consider Earth's human occupants similar to pond life. It's a wonder such a creature would need to go through the niceties of trying to integrate with us at any level, but this one does supposedly in order to impregnate a human to further its own species - but why would it need to?
I just kept thinking, "Why is it bothering?"
The version I saw was the DVD with "Alternate Ending" and I found it more satisfying than the other ending packaged with it. Quite frankly, by the time I'd got to the ending if JD's head had burst open and a UFO had flown out I would have been quite ready for it and not surprised at all.
It's the script and the anonymous alien that makes this movie somewhat unsatisfactory to me. I'm not sure why JD went in for it after his display of talent in Benny & Joon and The Brave to quote two of his diverse roles.
Not a tour de force piece of cinema in my book but well acted.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By DaveA
Format:DVD
What seems to be a mediocre Sci-Fi film turns out to be a thought provoking epic. The two astronauts on arriving back after an "encounter" in orbit appear to be different in certain ways , as if their personalities had been altered. When you realised that not all is right ,events take on a sinister air, and you are left thinking that they have been altered in some way by an advanced alien force.
As the film progresses the tension between Johnny Depps character and his wifes (Charlize Theron) becomes palpable , especially when she thinks she is pregnant with, what She thinks is a pair of alien hybrids. However at the conclusion you are left with the thought that may-be there are more so called alien-hybrids than anyone thinks and that perhaps this is what the Human condition is striving towards. I'll leave you to arrive at your own conclusions-- Don't take this film at face value it's a lot deeper than you think.
As the film progresses the tension between Johnny Depps character and his wifes (Charlize Theron) becomes palpable , especially when she thinks she is pregnant with, what She thinks is a pair of alien hybrids. However at the conclusion you are left with the thought that may-be there are more so called alien-hybrids than anyone thinks and that perhaps this is what the Human condition is striving towards. I'll leave you to arrive at your own conclusions-- Don't take this film at face value it's a lot deeper than you think.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
A patchy and derivative sci-fi story. The A-list cast give strong performances but they can't save an uninspired movie.
The first half hour of the movie races along at a strong pace, but then grinds to a disappointing halt when the real "psychological thriller" part of the movie begins, after which point it drags along at a snail's pace until the final showdown.
The final showdown is available in two different versions on the disc- and both versions are poor, unsatisfying endings. As we watched it we came up with at least three better endings for the film...
Unless you're a massive Johnny Deep or Charlize Theron fan, you could give this a miss.
The first half hour of the movie races along at a strong pace, but then grinds to a disappointing halt when the real "psychological thriller" part of the movie begins, after which point it drags along at a snail's pace until the final showdown.
The final showdown is available in two different versions on the disc- and both versions are poor, unsatisfying endings. As we watched it we came up with at least three better endings for the film...
Unless you're a massive Johnny Deep or Charlize Theron fan, you could give this a miss.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:DVD
I have read these reviews with interest and I have to say I m still not sure about this one. I have such faith in JD's understanding of his roles that I think that this so subtle- verging on the not there build up from a sweet all American guy to a ruthless, single minded non human may have been an interpretation of what it could be like to be replaced by an alien- without the movie stereotype we have all grown up with.
Is it possible that the cold looks, the extraordinary transformation over a few minutes in the love scene and the unflinching expression when Jo strokes his cheek further on in the story are all the clues we are meant to get?
Is it just a very subtle metamorphisis- or doesn't it work?
Anyone care for further debate on this one. I would still say worth watching... but odd
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Don't rate this film at all. I know the title is "The Astronauts Wife" and it was all about "the wife" but there should have been a bit more about the husband. There wasn't much of a roll for Johnny Depp in this film, in fact I couldn't see any abnormal behavior to suspect him being an alien.
Also, I got a bit fed up with close-ups of Charlize's mouth. Okay she has nice full lips but come on! What's all that about.
Also, I got a bit fed up with close-ups of Charlize's mouth. Okay she has nice full lips but come on! What's all that about.
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I love this film!! I would describe it as a Horror/Thriller. Johnny Depp and Charlize Theron are husband and wife. Johnny is an astronaut..hence the films title :P He returns from a space mission and Charlize realises he is now acting very sinister and strange, so she sets out to prove this is not her husband who has returned... but who has?? If you are a fan of the lead actors or this film genre then this is a must watch!
Format:DVD
What a great cast! I it when a story line in a movie can meet the great expectations I have for the big stars in it. A must see!
By bizmandan
Format:DVD
After watching this film I'm surprised to find that its original title wasn't Rosemary's Space Baby, as there are only two significant differences between movie and Polanski's 1968 film:
(1) In The Astronaut's Wife a woman fears that she has become impregnated not by Satan but by an alien.
(2) Rosemary's Baby is a good movie.
The wife in question is played by Charlize Theron a sweet Southern school teacher with a history of some mental instability and a haircut just like the one Mia Farrow sported in, you guessed it - Rosemary's Baby. Meanwhile, Johnny Depp, although lacking in his, now customary, heavy makeup, is convincing as ever as he plays her rocketeer husband in his usual outstanding way.
At first all is well, but following a mission mishap, things begin to turn sour, notably for Depp's ill-fated co-pilot and his pregnant wife, followed by some increasingly dire warnings from a concerned NASA bigwig, played by Joe Morton.
When Theron suddenly finds herself expecting, it is only a matter of time before she comes to believe that her husband looking strangely like Edward Scissorhands may not be the only odd thing about him. Is she really married to an alien? Or is she just as mad as Johnny Depp playing the part of a hatter? Sadly, by the time we find out, no-one cares.
While the cast do their best, particularly Depp, the whole story seems to be lacking in any sort of tension or atmosphere what so ever. The whole thing really does seem like a re-telling of Rosemary's baby but with a completely redundant sci-fi spin, it's predictable and has absolutely no mystery to it and very little thrill. I would recommend only watch this if you are a Depp fan as he is, as always, at his best.
(1) In The Astronaut's Wife a woman fears that she has become impregnated not by Satan but by an alien.
(2) Rosemary's Baby is a good movie.
The wife in question is played by Charlize Theron a sweet Southern school teacher with a history of some mental instability and a haircut just like the one Mia Farrow sported in, you guessed it - Rosemary's Baby. Meanwhile, Johnny Depp, although lacking in his, now customary, heavy makeup, is convincing as ever as he plays her rocketeer husband in his usual outstanding way.
At first all is well, but following a mission mishap, things begin to turn sour, notably for Depp's ill-fated co-pilot and his pregnant wife, followed by some increasingly dire warnings from a concerned NASA bigwig, played by Joe Morton.
When Theron suddenly finds herself expecting, it is only a matter of time before she comes to believe that her husband looking strangely like Edward Scissorhands may not be the only odd thing about him. Is she really married to an alien? Or is she just as mad as Johnny Depp playing the part of a hatter? Sadly, by the time we find out, no-one cares.
While the cast do their best, particularly Depp, the whole story seems to be lacking in any sort of tension or atmosphere what so ever. The whole thing really does seem like a re-telling of Rosemary's baby but with a completely redundant sci-fi spin, it's predictable and has absolutely no mystery to it and very little thrill. I would recommend only watch this if you are a Depp fan as he is, as always, at his best.
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2.7 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Why all the negatives?
I was really surprised by all the negative reviews about this film. Perhaps it is a tad too long, but it is by no means bad. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Rhiannon
3.0 out of 5 stars
jonny depp
This was a present for my Grandaugter who is a Jonny Depp fan. It arrived very quickly and was well received.
Published 20 months ago by Colin S
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well done
I really like this movie and have seen it several times. If you see Charlize Theron as the main character in it and the JD role more like some vague threat to an isolated and very... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Krista Knister
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Astronaut's Wife
When I fist watched this film,I was excited,and hoping for some good acting and story line.
It started off looking promising,but the ending was dreadful... Read more
It started off looking promising,but the ending was dreadful... Read more
Published on 2 July 2010 by Mr. M. G. Grist
2.0 out of 5 stars
Anti-climax
Has an interesting if slightly unoriginal story, unfortunately there is little action of any kind, it slowly builds like a suspense thriller but seems to sizzle out, I suppose the... Read more
Published on 20 Nov 2007 by Film Critic
1.0 out of 5 stars
Oh dear! Avoid this. It's really silly rubbish
What initially had an interesting premise just looses it almost immediately. And at the end of the film I felt it was deeply unsatisfactory on all levels. Read more
Published on 24 May 2007 by anon-london
5.0 out of 5 stars
super bad!
Hmmm, 1 star or 5? I had to comment on this film as it's the worst i've seen in, well, ever. Having said that it's so watchable for the same reason. Read more
Published on 14 April 2007 by checktheangularvectorofthemoon
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