Silent Running (1972)

Silent Running is one of the most boring, abysmal films I've ever seen. An attempt at cerebral, psychological science fiction, it drifts along at glacial pace, lacking the elegance of something like Tarkovsky's Solaris and ignoring important elements like plot. The film starts off by introducing us to four unlikeable characters (Bruce Dern included), then fists an environmentalist message down our throats so hard I had ham coming out my ass. Dern and crew are ordered to leave ship and blow up their biodomes for no reason at all--a mystery that was never resolved. Dern, a curmudgeon, refuses, kills his crewmates, and steers the ship away into the outer reaches of the solar system. The problem with the film is not its politics, it's the lack of anything interesting happening. Character motivations are shallow and underdeveloped, the dialogue is painful, and you're given absolutely nothing to work with mentally. The main question I had throughout the entire film was not about the details of the plot but rather about what the plot actually was. I cared little about Dern's actions, motivations, or mental state. I found his acting to be awkward and hammy and his struggles to be inconsequential. I think maybe the film was so boring because Dern's character was so bored--he did barely anything the entire time. The special effects are often praised, and for 1972 they are good, but they're just not good enough to warrant sitting through this messy, monotonous trash.

2/10