The Midnight Sky (Exclusive Mini Review Series) (Netflix)

Initial release date: December 11, 2010

Studios: Netflix Smokehouse Pictures Anonymous Content

Tagline: There’s a universe between all of us.

Plot: A lone scientist in the Arctic races to contact a crew of astronauts returning home to a mysterious global catastrophe.

Cast

George Clooney (Money Monster) - Augustine

Felicity Jones (The Aeronauts; On the Basis of Sex) - Sully

David Oyelowo (Chaos Walking; Peter Rabbit 2) - Adewole

Caoilinn Springall - Iris

Kyle Chandler (Godzilla vs. Kong) - Mitchell

Demian Bichir (Godzilla vs. Kong) - Sanchez

Sophie Rundle - Jean

Ethan Peck (Star Trek: Discovery) - Younger Augustine

Tim Russ - Mason Mosley

Writer: Mark L. Smith (Overlord; The Revenant; Vacancy 2)

Lily Brooks-Dalton (based on the book ‘Good Morning, Midnight’ by)

Director: George Clooney (The Monuments Men; The Ides of March)

Rated PG-13 for some bloody images and brief strong language

‘The Midnight Sky’ is a post-apocalyptic Netflix feature that is set not long after an unspecified event that destroys most of the planet. One of the things that I liked about the film is that it leaves the “event” as a total mystery.

The film can be quite compelling in most areas and the space-set sequences are really amazing to watch. Quite a few of the arctic scenes can be effective, yet can also slow the film down a bit.

The visuals that are shown in the space scenes are just simply outstanding, They can also be a bit tense, especially when the ship goes through a couple asteroid fields.

So if you’re looking for a post-apocalyptic movie that also features a good amount of space travel, give Netflix’s ‘The Midnight Sky’ a look!

Here are a few interesting tidbits about ‘The Midnight Sky’:

• Sully’s pregnancy was the result of actress Felicity Jones getting pregnant in real life.

• At approx. 39 minutes, the black and white film they are watching is 1959s ‘On the Beach,’ a movie about the end of the world, starring Ava Gardner and Gregory Peck; Peck’s real life grandson, Ethan Peck, play’s Augustine’s younger self.

• This is George Clooney’s first film role since the 2016 movie ‘Money Monster.’

• For the sequence where Augustine and the little girl are separated, the production filmed during an actual snowstorm in Iceland where temps were -40 degrees. Because it was so cold and actor/director George Clooney wasn’t wearing goggles, they could only shoot one minute takes before he had to take shelter and use a hair dryer to thaw his eyelashes.

• The film was announced in June 2019; Filming began on October 11, 2019 in England and wrapped in Iceland on February 7, 2020.

• Had a limited theatrical release on December 11, 2020 and was released digitally on December 23.

• It was the most watched film on Netflix over its first five days. The film remained in the Top 10 for its first 12 days of release. Netflix later revealed that the film was seen by 72 million households during its first week.