This screenplay will touch upon more and deeper psychological issues than most viewers are able or ready to explore within their own psyche. Hence, reviews such as, "it fails to consistently engage with its most interesting ideas." I.e., one's inward journey into their own psyche is of little to no interest for the average person. And... that is precisely why the Earth is full of problems caused by human infestation -- to quote V-ger (ST:TMP).

Movies addressing psychological issues and motifs are gaining traction in the movie industry, and can make quite a profit -- such as Barbie.

For the rest of us who are open to considering what lay beyond our inner limitations, this is an absolutely wonderful movie, perfectly juxtaposing innerspace with outerspace, and the cyclical dichotomy of the end being the beginning, at multiple levels. The direction and editing establish an absolutely perfect pace for the premise of solo space travel and introspection, analogous to Silent Running (1972). The set design is remarkably plausible.

Last but not least, this is the best performance by Adam Sandler since Punch Drunk Love (2002). And the irony in this movie is that when Sandler overcomes whatever issues keep him from taking on deep and serious roles -- in a manner similar to the character he plays in this movie -- he is absolutely amazing in revealing the gift of his own personal depth.

(Minus one star for psychological issues not written by, or without consultation of, psychology experts.)

Adam Sandler does a good job in this drama, but you're probably asking yourself "Why the spider"? Well, It is the most common fear among people (Arachnophobia). But do you know what are people even more afraid of? Accepting the truths about themselves and being completely honest with yourself. Now, combine all that and you get answers to everything about this, actually decent movie. That is why the spider crawls out of him in his dreams (subconscious), which is the beginning of his transformation and self-learning, self-knowledge. To realize you are selfish, a coward, and victim-mentality, it takes strength, but most of all "no filters about yourself". Are you a bad person? Can you go that deep into your mind to fight your demons? Just as a spider (at the beginning) so is self-learning. It is ugly and hard until you finally reach the goal - wanting to and eventually changing your wrong ways and also shedding parts of you (selfishness, bitterness, anger, victim mentality). Most people never reach this transformation, but he did. It started as an "ugly" huge spider, one, you later get to love. It is the TRUTH - The truth is ugly at the beginning but eventually, it sets you free, you start to love it, admire it, and learn. The truth about who you are, what, and why you did wrong. It is the ultimate goal and the beginning of a new life to overcome that battle and become fully honest with yourself. IS THE SPIDER REAL? I think not. I think Hanush is not real, it is Adam's (Jakob) projection of his subconscious, guilt, anger, and bitterness, but also all good inside, like love, acceptance, and understanding. That deep need to change what later becomes truth and ultimately the realization of his mistakes. It sets him free to open up and become a selfless, better man. At the same time, he ends battles within, he lets go of guilt, sadness, regret, and bitterness... they are all gone in the nebula, and that is why clear skies open.

I understand that a lot of people probably rated this low because they saw that it starred Adam Sandler and came into it expecting Happy Gilmore. I did not. I am a sci-fi enthusiast, and I cut my teeth on some of the great, old masterpieces of the '50s and '60s -- many of them by Czech authors, just like this one was! These novels and films were ones that modern audiences might see as "dry" these days, but they were hard-core sci-fi that packed an emotional punch while telling a story of speculative fiction -- a world that "advanced the timeline" from our own to see how the human psyche, human morality, human frailty, would cope with advances in technology. And that's exactly what we have here -- a Czech astronaut put in an extraordinary circumstance, even fantastical by the standards of our "real world." And yet, the actual story isn't fantastical at all -- it's a simple question of the human heart, and the meaning of life. In that way, it's not so different from a one-act, heavy-dialogue drama... but by framing it as a science fiction film, we can strip out any modern-day distractions and just focus on human nature in its purest form.

And maybe enjoy Paul Dano's absolutely riveting performance as a giant arachnid alien!

This is a must-see for any lover of "pure" sci-fi or "old-school" sci-fi. 8/10.