shahjrahman
...And finally I've come to the very first thing from my list of thousands of titles seen that's worth me spending time to write about.Don't get me wrong, I've seen other wonderful documentaries, movies, serials etc., but here we have a documentary on a topic that fascinates me more than anything. So, while I apologies for my bias, I suspect it is bias which has played a major role on this title not receiving 10/10 all across the board. To me this documentary-movie is the greatest piece of art in television history because it visualises the absolute boundaries of the human knowledge. To take the viewer through a 'zoom-out style' journey is brilliant in its own right, but to achieve subtly highlighting just how small we are is another major plus. It's been 10 years (at the time of my review), I have watched it countless times, and the narration throughout has informed me loud and clear that we are probably just scratching the surface.Dear NatGeo, please tell me more.
jjoseph202
It's so hard to find the words to express my extreme disappointment in this "docudrama". I call it that because the scriptwriter found it necessary to add "drama" to facts in order make it seem more interesting.If you're going to take me through the universe, give me the DATA, not how I'm supposed to "feel" about it.I often got the impression when watching this film that someone said, "Hey, Carl Sagan died in 1996 without an update to 'Cosmos', so let's make a Cosmos 'wow-alike' without a narrator that knows something about the subject matter." They even stole Sagan's "we are star-stuff" line.Oh yeah, spoiler.When you get to the edge of the universe, you'll witness the Big Bang.Scientifically ludicrous.The writer(s) obviously had space and time confused.Don't watch this with the idea that you'll learn anything.Instead, imagine that the 2001: Space Odyssey stargate sequence was (over)done with modern CGI and some Hubble-type imagery.In the 70's people used to go to 2001 just to be stoned and watch the sequence. That's about what this film is good for.The script even has the kind of vacuous insights that stoners get and think they're being profound.Pompous.I guess that's why they picked Alec Baldwin to narrate.
Penwords
The NASA visuals are superb. The explanation of what we are seeing is factually patchy. Superlatives excite but they seldom enlighten. It would have been far more interesting and informative if the repetitious space travel shots were reduced or voice-over used to let us know more details rather than irrelevant "whishing" sounds as we are zapped across the universe. Amazing cosmic events are named, but not explained. For instance: what happens when a galaxy is "pulled apart" and what happens on a moon that is caught in a tug-of-war? We saw the solar wind and its effect on a comet, but that was the extent of narration regarding it. In terms of providing understanding, the script sucked.
jose ortiz
Anyone who watches this documentary and does not walk away feeling absolutely humbled or at the very least - completely blown away needs to re-evaluate their mind. This is just such a piece of work. I have seen countless documentaries on astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology etc. but nothing has even come close to delivering the idea that we live in a most amazing universe like this movie does. It also does so in a most unpatronising way - treating the viewer with mucho intelligence. Hey - this is not a review - just a comment that I had to make after watching this. I will look forward to watching this again and again. One should never tire of experiencing anything like this. Watch it - experience it - enjoy it and most of all - learn from it!! - J.R. Ortiz, England
AD
