Sputnik is a 2020 sci-fi movie directed by Egor Abramenko and starring Oksana Akinshina, Fedor Bondarchuk and Pyotr Fyodorov.
Creepy and heartwarming
Sputnik starts off in space, where two astornauts are talking about what they’ll do when they finally get home. However, something on their spaceship diverts their attention, and we soon see their ship crash landing in Russia, where Averchenko turns up dead, while the other, Konstantin Veshnyakov, is seemingly alive, but with a new friend in tow.
We are then introduced to Tatyana Klimova, a disgraced psychologist, who is sought out by Colonel Semiradov to help him with probing Konstantin about what happened out there. You see, when Konstantin landed on Earth, he brought with him an alien from outer space, who has made him a host. Soon, a cat-and-mouse game starts between Tatyana and Konstantin, and it all culminates to a heartwarming final scene.
Most of Sputnik revolves around the conversation between Konstantin and Tatyana. In the process of probing him, we are introduced to many secrets that are probably better left unsaid. These moments are tense because you won’t know what you might come to know next.
When we’re not listening to the two talk, we come face-to-face with the alien itself, which is gooey, slimy and all kinds of scary. The CGI isn’t the best, but it does its job well. as the movie progresses, we get to know more about it, why it chose one of the astronauts, its weaknesses and its adaptability. Its fascinating stuff, and I was hooked throughout the movie.
The movie also questions what we are supposed to fear – the expedition, the alien, the secretive Tatyana, Konstantine or the General. Because honestly, all of them are quite scary. Tatyana, although seems like a good soul, has her demons to fight. You can feel she’s been throughout some tough times, and its portrayed brilliantly by Oksana Akinshina, whose icy expression bring out Tatyana’s grief and determination very well.
As for Konstantine, you know that man is hiding something big, and when it is finally revealed, it makes you wonder what the hell is going on. As for the General, he wants to control the alien for the reason military personnel usually want to control things. What’s scarier, I think, is what he does when (seemingly) no one is looking. Sputnik has decent number of twists and turns that keep you entertained and at the edge of your seats. There’s some real horror and gore that you come across which are great to watch.
The entire conversations between Konstantine and Tatyana culminates into the ending, which is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. There’s a small twist that plays out throughout the movie that wouldn’t make sense until that last moment. It’s a good addition, and honestly gives the movie a heart.
There’s much to deliberate here, and Spotnik plays around with its various people and conversations well. Will stellar performances, the movie’s best bits are its conversations between the main characters. It’s a battle of the minds that is great to watch.
Summing up: Sputnik
Sputnik is good movie that makes you wonder about people and the extra-terrestrial. It doesn’t do a whole lot, but whatever it delivers, it delivers great. It’s entertaining and nail-biting, and the moments where we get the creature are action-packed. There are obvious resemblances from other sci-fi films, but nothing that will make you question why you’re watching it.
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