The Challenge (2023)

7/10

p_kocic10 January 2024

I found this movie to be quite enjoyable and it felet surprisingly short for being such a long movie.

Often foreign movies (even movies from Sweden where I'm from) I find boring and not so good, but I did kind of like this one. Fair enough, I do like space and follow the space industry fairly closely so this helped.

I thoroughly enjoyed the fact we got to see real cosmonoauts, who really delivered in all aspects - kudos to them. A real Soyuz launch from Baikonur, great stuff!

But most importantly, it was great to see the real ISS and some actual zero-G physics in action. Surely enough, the story line went as expected but every movie musn't be Shuttler Island with a twist to be good.

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8/10

New era in space and film industry

ertunc22 January 2024

Though some parts of the movie takes place in space, you don't categorize it as science-fiction but rather drama. This gives us a clue of a new era not only in space but also in film industry.

Many scenes are not fictious, they are real. They match with what we saw at documentaries about International Space Station (ISS).

I'm not sure whether the blood in an open wound would behave like that, or how real was the operation. That is something a medical doctor can talk more about.

It also seems very dangerous to allow to carry a sharp object during space walk.

The movie deserves an eight from me not only because it is the first movie ever to be filmed in space, but also its extraordinary scenario.

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9/10

Very good movie

mixanikolic11 January 2024

Not a fan of Russian cinematography. I watched many Russian movies and didnt't find them good enough. Especially those with sci-fi theme. Only one I found to be more than just watchable, was " The ninth company". But, I went to watch this movie due to curiosity of it being filmed in ISS, and I must say that this was by far the best Russian movie I've ever watched. Everything was so realistic that one could get a feeling of what is it like being in space. Only downside is "acting" of some of the crew members, but considering they were real astronauts and not proffessional actors, that wasn't big deal. Overall, better then the most of American space movies. I would recomend this movie.

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9/10

perfect movie.

chakala805 January 2024

Absolutely great movie, everything is there. Every second is worth watching. First feature-length fiction film shot in outer space. The actors play very well. The main character is pretty. The astronauts themselves are also real, of course, they don't play very well, but they tried. It was really cool to see the amazing achievements of engineering and science in real life and documented like this, and I felt like I was witnessing something special. Congratulations to the team and the people of Russia for making history! Few movies make one remember that there is still time to do something extraordinary, to push the limits of humankind, but truly. Stole my heart.

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10/10

Great

grattello21 April 2023

Movie is nice from all points of view. Even if you don't know about real space shooting its' beautiful and precise to details. But when you realize that its real ISS every little detail takes your eye on it. Earth parts, 3d graphic part and real space parts looks really smooth and not makes any dissonance.

Storyline is fine. Characters are shown really nice. Special grats to real spacemen at ISS who uncovered as well as actors. Humanity stepped deeper to space - making entertainment movies in such dangerous and amazing environment.

Director (and operator at space as well) made great job together with actress Yulia Peresild.

I easily can recommend this movie.

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10/10

Not Your Typical Space Flick

mar_mat_z3 May 2023

With so many things being fake and distorted today, this movie takes a special place on the pedestal of cinema history due to its real portrayal of people living in extreme conditions on a space station. This is a story about love, life, space, and human beings with their problems and weaknesses. For anyone looking for an action movie with special effects, space battles, and other fiction, this movie is probably not for you.

Shot beautifully with incredible scenes from a real space station, scenes of a rocket launch, and very talented actors.

What sets this movie apart is that it makes you believe in human potential, strength, and character.

I am proud to be Russian, regardless of any current circumstances, and thankful to anyone involved in a production of this amazing film.

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10/10

Amazing, its real

hakimull1 May 2023

This is the first film of its kind. It's very interesting and incredible. Everything feels very real and true (because this is reality). I envy the actors who were able to fly into space, realized their dream.

The actors play very well. The main character is pretty. The astronauts themselves are also real, of course, they don't play very well, but they tried.

I was surprised that, probably, some scenes of the film were shot in outer space, the director and the actress were allowed to go into space, it's amazing.

The film itself is probably not the best from an artistic point of view. But the film is unique, to support it appreciated positively.

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10/10

A nice movie

siminovicondrejkov30 April 2023

I found this movie rather enjoyable. It may have it's issues, after all no movie is perfect. However credit must be given for the performance of the main actress and for the simple fact that this movie was shot in space and still looked good. And to address the negative reviews I must say this. This movie was made to be as realistic as possible and was filmed under significant constrictions. Filming with real equipment for the space programme, aircraft, spacecraft including the ISS, as well as real locations or detailed sets based on them. Multiple "actors" were not experienced actors but space industry professionals. Real cosmonauts, technicians, doctors and others. And finally, when it comes to reviews for this movie on this website I find them extremely suspicious. The majority of the reviews are above 5/10, afterwards very few reviews between 5 and 2/10 , and then a huge spike of 1/10. To me, based on pure logic, this seems like review bombing or negative reviews based only on the fact that this movie is Russian. I find it extremely suspicious that almost nobody reviewed it from 2 to 5.

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10/10

Great movie shot in space

anonim-738831 May 2023

I had a great day today, the best thing about today is going to the movies!) So I went to see the movie "The Challenge" I'll start by saying that this year makes me happy for the newest of our films.

And, Challenge is no exception!

"Challenge" is the first and hopefully not the last Russian film made about space and space.

The film is beautiful, with excellent acting, a wonderful and exciting story, and the film was interesting and not boring, even though the film has a running time of 164 minutes.

The plot of the film is simple, but I repeat that it is beautiful.

This movie has some great actors: Julia Peresild, Milos Bikovich, Vladimir Mashkov, Elena Valyushkina and many, many good actors.

They played great, like other actors and I think that these are their best roles!

Also, I want to note the excellent camera work and views of space and a wonderful soundtrack, where all the songs perfectly complement the film.

The song of the singer Yolka on the credits is gorgeous.

In general, I found only pluses in this film, not minuses!

As a result, the film "The Challenge" is a wonderful and not ashamed best Russian film this year.

I consider it the best Russian film of the year, except for "Cheburashka" and "Going".

I give "The Challenge" 10 out of 10 and I advise you to watch this film in the cinema!

Home will be a completely different experience than in the cinema!

P. S: By the way, I went to the VIP room today, and it's beautiful!!!

If tickets cost 500 rubles each, like today, then I would just go there!) P. S. S: By the way, I haven't left the hall with dizziness and headache for a long time, because there are scenes in this film that made my head spin for some reason!

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3/10

The final frontier is good movie not this one

D-M-R13 October 2023

It's an incredibly long, grievous movie with sham predictable drama and stakes where the main character is the mere fact of being filmed in space, shot by men with a male gaze on one woman. A famous meme immediately comes to mind.

The most amazing thing here is that real astronauts sometimes play better than any honored artists.

It's pretty obvious that they were inspired by Gravity and Armageddon, with more of the latter, but without the explosions.

It's a shame it's covered in a big layer of propaganda, even here we see its traces - commissioned reviews with scores of 10 out of 10, which of course is complete nonsense.

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10/10

The most refreshing 2023 space movie

nemanja-bekric1 May 2023

The plot is very refreshing because its so realistic with no overemphasized scene so often seen in Hollywood's movies.

If you expected some sci-fi movie you are into the big surprise. All scene are realistic and it gest so much better when you are aware "this scene inside space station are really shoot inside space station".

It is a great success that they managed to create a plot that is interesting to keep your attention all the time even the scene is "realistic".

For those expecting space sci-fi drama are probably to be disappointed, for other they will be surprise that whole action is going on real-life present space station.

Big recommendation to watch this in cinema.

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1/10

Simple script

fishd-4221813 September 2023

I started watching it with high expectations because it was shot in space, its score is quite high compared to science fiction, and it is 2.5 hours long, but it wouldn't be such a shallow scenario. It's a shame for all the money spent for space shootings, crew and all computer effects.

This kind of movies needs to sit on strong stories, without proper story it doesn't matter how you do all the visual effects.

I can not say i recommend this movie but in the other hand i am looking forward for Russian Science Fiction future movies.

I believe "Raised by wolf" was a good example for atmosphere and story of science fiction movies.

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9/10

Superb Space Saga

ppchaukimath23 February 2024

Warning: Spoilers

I do not know Russian Language. But Oh my ! What a sensational movie this gem turned out be. Did not have any negative feeling all through when watching this movie. The makers of this record setting movie ( the first cine movie to be shot in outer space ) deserve our grateful thanks and hearty congratulations for the boldness, courage and vision to go into space and shoot a fantastic movie.

The story is decent but in the context of outer space , it assumes great character. It is about the need of a complex and complicated surgical operation to be performed in the cramped modules of ISS and where there is no gravity !

The photography is excellent and the visuals are breathtaking capturing the loneliness, vastness, serene beauty of space.

The actors are all have performed admirably well. However, the charismatic and beautiful Yuliya deserves special mention for her fabulous portrayal of female surgeon Zhenya. Belyaeve.

Strongly recommended.

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10/10

Times are changing

yjctxjmbt29 April 2023

To be honest, I didn't expect much when I went to the movie theater, but I was pleasantly surprised by how awesome the experience was.

It was really cool to see the amazing achievements of engineering and science in real life and documented like this, and I felt like I was witnessing something special. Congratulations to the team and the people of Russia for making history!

I'm so excited to see more mind-blowing projects like this on the big screen from them, it's obvious their time is coming!

Few movies make one remember that there is still time to do something extraordinary, to push the limits of humankind, but truly. Stole my heart.

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10/10

Super!!!!

reduplicatsija9 September 2023

A great movie. It's not like anything I've seen before. Real cosmonauts played in the film, great guys, indistinguishable from the actors. Anyone who says that the film is outright bad is simply biased. The only thing is that there is little video of the earth from space.

The film contains over 35 minutes of footage shot in space. The main actress did a great job, she perfectly conveyed the drama of the situation. An interesting parallel line that conveys the Russian mentality.

I hope a new page of cinema has opened and we will see many more films actually shot in space by directors from different countries.

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2/10

boring

snikeg-4751525 November 2023

I simply didn't watch such a boring and uninteresting film, absolutely no interesting twists or anything unexpected, you can just read the description of the film and end your acquaintance with it. The idea could be interesting if, in addition to the predictable operation at the station, something went wrong, but absolutely nothing happens there. Scenes with real cosmonauts and professional actors look discordant due to the difference in acting skills. The advertised trick of flying into space does not bring anything good to the film, especially if you don't know about it in advance. The main problem is, of course, the script, perhaps due to the rush it turned out to be completely smooth and does not play on the feelings of the creator, does not try to manipulate in order to evoke at least some feelings for the characters. Nd the main character looks like a martyr with psychological problems who spends the whole film whispering something, so in half the scenes you can't hear what she says.

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10/10

One of the best films ever shot

morocco-702226 August 2023

An amazing film with breathtaking scenes from a real International Space Station in zero gravity, real rocket launch in Baikanur, scenes in open space, good humour, touching moments, incredible sound, and very talented actors.

This film is about the most important things in life: love, relationships in families, dedication to professions, readiness to help other people, overcoming of internal fears, strength of body and mind.

A lot of thanks to all people who took part in making this great film. I'm proud to be Russian. I am sure that a lot of people around the world will enjoy watching this excellent film!

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5/10

To fast...

petru-211 January 2024

I started to watch this movie on TV (more precisely, recorded from TV program). I couldn't read the subtitles, so fast ran the movie.

*********************************************************************** This happened to me only once before in my life. I am aware that the speed of the film on television is slightly higher than in the cinema, 25 frames per second instead of 24 (Europe).

Maybe the movie would be watchable in the cinema. In any case, it is clear that the film is not so full of content to justify this speed.

Almost three hours.

It's a pity, I didn't manage to see if the film has any parts that couldn't be shot with ordinary film techniques. I doubt there is any reason to shoot "in space".

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10/10

Recommendation

Protestator1 October 2023

In terms of visual effects, quality of acting and script, this movie is at least 10 years ahead of Hollywood. Compared to any Hollywood production of the last 10 years in the sci-fi genre, a clear 10. Camera is outstanding. We can find certain objections regarding realism, but the film deals with a topic that in real life has no situation to which it can be compared at the moment. Acting, much more realistic, lifelike, without the GI Joe over-emphasis. The characters in the film are real people, not superheroes. The most disturbing are the unnecessary comic elements, which are completely copied from American scripts. A visually phenomenal film, after which you will leave the cinema satisfied.

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10/10

What movie did you watch when you went to The Challenge?

g-927892 May 2023

Warning: Spoilers

Director Klim Shipenko studied in the USA. The director made box-office films. Especially "Kholop". The director shot an almost Hollywood movie about space "Salyut-7" with a sledgehammer and caps in zero gravity ... . He understands scripts, cliffhangers, jokes, relationships.

For more than 2 hours, no one was distracted and did not immediately stand up on the credits ... .

How people suffer in this hutch. Nothing was filmed in the American segment, only they let me into the dome once. It's a little more spacious there. Clip Uma2rman and cosmonaut Korsakov filmed in a spacious part.

What movie did you watch when you went to The Challenge?

Here are all these dissatisfied, what kind of movie did they watch? About space?

So. The movie is not about that!

FAIRY TALE!!!

It's a classic Cinderella story. She lives an ordinary life of an ordinary person with classic problems. I overslept at work, my daughter screwed up at school - I had to take time off from work, take the metro to school (these long trips and all sorts of everyday life were infuriating, but it turned out that it was necessary). Then on the subway home or to the office of the prosecutor, where she is an ordinary defenseless citizen in front of the soulless machine of the state, powerless before bureaucratic arbitrariness. There is no husband, he crashed, something will not stick together with another man. Ordinary life of the layman.

A fairy tale, timely and for the target audience (youth) very well-made. Experts may have a lot of technical questions about rivets and inconsistencies with real life...

And I thought, why frank cranberries with access to the EVA without a water-cooling suit and light filters?

And SHIPENKO frankly said (he said with a kin) - A TALE about Cinderella. In a dress and in space. And farewell to Seryoga by throwing out the earrings.

Women cry at the film. I personally dragged my wife and observed.

Shipenko made a film for Eternity. Now he is the first.

And the haters will not be remembered, just as they do not remember the critic who shot himself after Stalin praised the film criticized by the critic.

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10/10

Amazing!

slovakWakko29 September 2023

Excellent movie, the best one I've seen in several years. Even though it's a long movie, I've watched it several times for the unique atmosphere, a mix of calm professionalism usual for reality-based space dramas, and the hectic, loud drama of medical emergency situations.

Yula Peresild was great, and watching her, knowing that she's actually in space, was something different. At first I thought it an unnecessary stunt of Dmitriy Rogozin, then-head of Roscosmos, to actually send actors to space. I couldn't be more wrong! Yula really knows how to convey emotions, how to make the viewers feel what her character feels. And in this movie, she helps us to catch a glimpse of the feelings that she felt, being in space for the first time. That was quite unexpected... wow.

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