Film
IMAX Hubble
- Action
- Light-hearted
A 44-minute IMAX 3D experience that puts you inside the Space Shuttle Atlantis as astronauts undertake a perilous repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, it's visceral and immersive—less documentary lecture, more you-are-there spectacle. For anyone who's ever looked up and wondered, or who simply loves watching humans do impossible things in the void.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love the sheer scale of space footage and want to feel suspended above the Earth, with the Hubble repair mission giving the visuals a practical, human stake.
Skip it if you want a deep, questioning science documentary; this is more of a visual spectacle with a short runtime and a light touch on the telescope's discoveries.
What it asks of you: It runs under an hour and keeps a calm, steady pace, letting the images do most of the talking, so you mostly need to sit back and look.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Apollo 131995
The definitive space-disaster narrative: tension, ingenuity, and real stakes. Tom Hanks and Ed Harris anchor a story where every decision matters and failure means death. Emotionally devastating and technically gripping.
But Nearly three hours, and the ending is history—you know they make it home. Some find the pacing slow compared to modern thrillers.
The Right Stuff1983
Sweeping, ambitious account of the Mercury Seven astronauts' selection and early flights. Gorgeous cinematography, genuine humor, and a real sense of what it felt like to be first. A film that earns its four-hour runtime.
But Episodic structure means momentum shifts. It's a 1980s epic with that era's pacing, which modern viewers sometimes find baggy.
For All Mankind1989
Al Reinert's poetic collage of Apollo footage and astronaut testimony. Wordless sequences of the moon, set to Brian Eno. Profound without being pompous. You feel the awe and the danger in equal measure.
But Experimental structure—no conventional narrative arc. Some will find it meditative; others will want a plot thread to hold onto.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from IMAX Hubble
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Solaris1972
Both are about humans in fragile vessels, reaching toward something greater, held together by engineering and will. Solaris asks: what if the universe doesn't want to be fixed?
Tarkovsky's 3-hour meditation on a space station orbiting an alien ocean. Humans attempting to understand and repair things far beyond their comprehension. Like Hubble repair, but the telescope is conscious and keeping secrets. Existentially overwhelming.
But Soviet science fiction from the 1970s, so: very long, very slow, and the philosophy matters more than plot. Dialogue is sparse. You must surrender to its rhythm.
More like this (7)
Gravity2013
Space as a hostile, beautiful wilderness. Cuarón's technical achievement mirrors the subject: humans fixing satellites in orbit. A masterclass in sustained tension and visual storytelling. Sandra Bullock carries it entirely.
But More thriller than documentary; it takes real scenarios and pushes them toward catastrophe. If you want actual spaceflight, this isn't it.
Hidden Figures2016
The human computing behind spaceflight, told through the stories of Black women mathematicians at NASA during the space race. Thrilling, funny, and historically urgent. Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe are exceptional.
But Streamlines history for narrative—some events are compressed or reordered. The ending skips past where the real story gets thornier.
The Martian2015
Stranded on Mars, an astronaut problem-solves his way home with ingenuity and humor. It's about humans fixing things against the odds—not unlike Hubble repair. Matt Damon is engaging, and the science is mostly sound and always fun.
But Blockbuster sensibility means some orbital mechanics are simplified. If you want rigorous physics, this prioritizes story and likability first.
Cosmos1980
Neil deGrasse Tyson's 13-episode cosmic journey. Each hour expands your sense of scale and time. Visually gorgeous, genuinely educational, and deeply moving about humanity's place in the universe. A modern classic.
But Tyson's presentation style is polished to the point some find it slick. It aims for wonder and sometimes lands on TED-talk earnestness instead.
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc1999
Luc Besson's maximalist account of Joan's divine mission. It captures how impossible tasks feel—the certainty, the doubt, the astronauts' same focus. Milla Jovovich commits entirely. A visionary (if uneven) film about conviction.
But Wildly operatic in tone. The dialogue can feel overwrought, and Besson's aesthetics overwhelm the history. Not everyone wants their history this heightened.
First Man2018
Damien Chazelle's intimate look at Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 mission. Less about the triumph, more about the personal cost. Ryan Gosling's restraint and the sound design create something austere and human.
But Deliberately unglamorous and introspective. If you want the spectacle of spaceflight, you'll find the camera is often on Armstrong's face instead of the stars.
Touching the Void2003
Both depict humans solving problems in environments where failure is death. Hubble repair is mountaineering in zero gravity. Same stakes, different terrain.
Joe Simpson and Simon Yates climbing the Andes, catastrophe, and Simpson's descent into a crevasse. Told through interviews and animation. Unbearable tension—survival against physics and exhaustion. A perfect survival narrative with no padding.
But The animation is dated and occasionally jarring. Some find the interview structure less immediate than pure cinema.
People
Cast
Leonardo DiCaprioSelf (Narrator)
Directing
- Toni MyersDirector
Writing
- Frank SummersWriter
- Graeme FergusonWriter
- Toni MyersWriter
Production
- Judy CarrollAssociate Producer
- Graeme FergusonExecutive Producer
- Toni MyersProducer