The Reel Review
A spaceship emergency forces an asteroid miner, Andy, to crash land his escape pod on a remote planet, where faced with rapidly depleting oxygen and being chased by alien creatures, he must make his way across harsh terrain to the only other survivor who is trapped in her escape pod. Anthony Ramos (In The Heights, Hamilton) and Naomi Scott (Smile 2, Aladdin) star in this sci-fi/thriller.
For a relatively mid-budget PG-13 film, co-directing duo Will Speck and Josh Gordon (Office Christmas Party, Blades of Glory) showcase some pretty impressive planetary visuals and some effective albeit similar looking monsters. The most ominous of the bunch look suspiciously similar to those in 2024’s Elevation. Zachary Quinto provides some comic relief as the AI voice, LEONARD.
The screenplay from writer Spenser Cohen (Tarot, Moonfall) is the weakest part of the film, borrowing heavily from several other, better sci-fi films. As the lead character, Ramos overacts throughout much of the film and unnecessarily dumbs down his character to an annoying degree, with Naomi Scott providing some levity when she finally appears almost an hour into the film. But at just under an hour and a half, there are certainly worse sci-fi films out there.
REEL FACTS
• Filmed in 2020, Long Distance, originally titled Distant, suffered from numerous reshoots and re-edits before finally appearing unceremoniously on Hulu in July 2025.
• Long Distance was made from a budget estimated between $15 to $30 million.
• Co-director Josh Gordon has a cameo role in the film, as the dead man in the cryo pod that Andy hides in.
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