Shocking Truth Revealed: ‘Slingshot’ Space Psychodrama Leads to Unheard Snoozefest!

“Slingshot”, a cinematic space adventure directed by Mikael Håfström, revolves around a perilous space flight maneuver involving the science of orbital mechanics. The astronauts embarking on this journey, covering over a billion and a half miles to Saturn’s moon, Titan, will require a gravity assist, or “slingshot”, from Jupiter’s orbital velocity to reach their destination. Their mission to Titan is crucial as it’s the only other cosmic entity that houses liquid on its surface – methane, which they plan to gather for clean energy to mitigate Earth’s climate change.

However, this film, featuring Casey Affleck, is not the typical action-packed space thriller one might expect. It’s not about the “slingshot” maneuver, the methane gas, or even about climate change. Instead, the focus is on the hurdles of the journey itself. To survive the prolonged journey, the crew must enter periods of “hibernation”, lasting three months at a time, induced by heavy drug doses. This results in disorientation and confusion every time they awaken to perform a task.

John (Affleck), an ambitious pilot chosen through a stringent selection process for this hazardous mission, spends most of his time on board struggling with hallucinations of a past lover, Zoe (Emily Beecham), one of the architects of the advanced spacecraft. Each time he falls asleep, he dreams of Zoe entangled in sheets, and each time he awakens, he’s wrestling with a hazy mind, trying to distinguish reality from illusion, or arguing with his crew members about their commands.

His relationship with his crewmates, Capt. Franks (Laurence Fishburne) and scientist Nash (Tomer Capone), progressively worsens as their mental stability deteriorates over numerous strenuous hibernation cycles. When the ship suffers unexplained damage, possibly due to structural stress, Franks is adamant about completing the mission, while Nash advocates for a return. John is trapped in this conflict. Despite this central friction, “Slingshot” is a noticeably languid film, featuring a dazed Affleck wandering around a spaceship for the majority of the film.

As Nash instigates rebellion, Franks tries to forcefully regain command, employing both physical violence and psychological manipulation. Ultimately, the scenario unfolds like a space-based version of “Gaslight”, with Fishburne in the role of Charles Boyer and Affleck as Ingrid Bergman. Screenwriters R. Scott Adams and Nathan Parker forego exploring potential themes, instead introducing one plot twist after another to prevent the story from becoming too lethargic.

The curiosity to discern reality from illusion maintains a mild interest to keep viewers engaged, but the constant flashbacks to a saccharine and unconvincing romance, where John and Zoe lay on the floor discussing moths, severely hamper the film’s momentum. The outstanding Beecham is burdened with a dreary hairstyle and an even more dismal role, her character merely serving as a source of faint longing for the sleepy John. Affleck appears listless even in the flashbacks and is utterly unconvincing as a hot-shot pilot in his late 30s, sleepwalking through this film in more ways than one.

Equally slow-paced is Håfström’s direction. Even though the lighting in the hibernation pods is visually appealing, the creative decisions surrounding John’s hallucinations are predictable and clichéd. Apart from Fishburne’s performance, which is the only fascinating aspect of the film (even though it’s reminiscent of his iconic Morpheus from “The Matrix”), there is nothing else to engage the viewers. Despite numerous plot twists, “Slingshot” lacks any sign of vitality.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.