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The Oscar winner falters on a pioneering mission to Mars, in a glossy, saccharine Netflix series that’s more mundane than out of this world
There is an unexpectedly old-fashioned feel to Away (Netflix), the glossy and ambitious new space drama led by two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank. At times, it resembles a blockbuster film from the 90s, at others, a big, mainstream television show from the 00s, but somehow, it has lost the essence of modernity that you might expect from a series set in the near future, made today.
Swank is Emma Green, the commander of a five-strong international team of astronauts and scientists embarking on a three-year mission to become the first humans to set foot on Mars. Things go wrong, a lot. Happily, for anyone made nauseous by the wobbly antics of George Clooney and Sandra Bullock in Gravity, Away is more concerned with how people deal with catastrophe than it is with catastrophe itself. This makes it an intriguing prospect, because it promises not to take the obvious path. This is its strength and its main flaw. For a story with such a dramatic premise, it resists bombast. The action sequences are enough to get the heart pounding, but are rarely overcooked. Instead, it spends around half of its time on Earth, exploring the emotional impact of such a mission on the family, friends and support crew on terra firma, and there is a soaring soundtrack, as everyone learns something new about themselves. Continue reading...