‘Spaceman’ brings Adam Sandler into heavy-handed sci-fi drama

Adam Sandler’s deal with Netflix means he can do whatever he wants, and in the case of “Spaceman,” that means traveling to the far reaches of space as the near-lone star of a bombastic, message-packed drama. means. This concept violates “Seinfeld’s” “no hugs, no learning” rule and will keep you interested for a while, but you’ll run out of fuel before you get home.

The film is an adaptation of Jaroslav Karfash’s novel “The Bohemian Cosmonaut” by director Johan Lenk (Emmy Award winner for “Chernobyl”) and writer Colby Day, and is based on the Czech Republic, where Sandler stayed for more than six months. He plays a Czech astronaut named Jakub. A sample of a mysterious cosmic cloud. But Mission Control tries to keep him focused on the problem at hand, and helps fund it by having Yakub, a star in his homeland, read ads for things like anti-nausea drugs, but everything on Earth is is not going well.

In fact, Jakub notices that his wife Lenka (Carey Mulligan, from the underrated Wife VIP in the Netflix movie “Maestro”) has stopped sending messages, and their relationship I’m worried that you’re nervous. It’s natural that Lenka wants to put an end to the situation, and the head of the space agency (Isabella Rossellini) reveals a fact that she doesn’t want to reveal so as not to distract Jakub from his mission.

Jakub is greeted by an unexpected guest before he can achieve his goal: a knowledgeable alien with a comforting voice (played by Paul Dano, who is excellent at this kind of creepiness) that belies its unsettling look.

After getting over his initial shock, Yakub begins to develop a relationship with an alien he calls Hanush. The alien is overly interested in the details of this “skinny person”‘s life, especially his relationship with his partner. The reasons for this are still unclear, but the point is that sometimes you have to go far to realize what’s really important, and there’s no place like home, Aunt Em.

After playing a supporting role in “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah,” which showcased his daughters, and satisfying sports fans in “Hustle,” Sandler takes on the challenge of being an astronaut in this dramatic twist. looks like he’s enjoying it. His job takes him to the airport, to the point where his marriage may be in jeopardy. The actor has a wide range of work under his belt, but one suspects that Netflix wants his next venture to be closer to the realm of murder mystery.

There’s a good deal of “gravity” to the performances in space and the way Sandler holds the screen, but “Spaceman” relies on emotional clichés that make it feel a little too heavy. Whether this is ultimately due to the underlying material or the hard labor expended in translation, the net effect is failure of publication.