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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2973 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for March 27, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I successfully avoided any spoilers for the book and saw it last night.

Was not expecting that. At all.

  • What I thought it would be - Saving the world with the power of science: The Martian crossed with Seveneves.
  • What it actually was - Saving the world with the power of friendship: E.T. crossed with Sunshine and The Iron Giant

A few stunning visual sequences that I'm still thinking about. Soundtrack worked well - fit with the "Hail Mary" theme. Also, character's name is "Grace".

Maybe I'm too reddit-brained, but I kind of wanted a bit more explanation of the science. There's a a critical moment in the film that is the core emotional climax the entire plot has been building toward, and the logistics of it are not even handwaved. They're just not explained. I was just like "okay, that's great. nailed the emotional beat, but .. how tf??". A minor gripe. Still liked it.

There's much much more "power of science" stuff in the book, which they (tragically but wisely IMHO) cut from the film (or at best alluded to in the film, in five second bits showing the solutions to problems that took minutes to hours of thinking or days to weeks of trial-and-error), to make room in an otherwise-too-long-for-a-movie story for the more emotionally central themes related to your spoilered point.

The book is still not as good in that respect as The Martian, but it's way closer than the movies were.

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