Return to Space | Rotten Tomatoes

Return to Space

TV-MA

2022

2 hr. 8 min.

Documentary

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List

79%

19 Reviews

Tomatometer

82%

50+ Ratings

Audience Score

For the first time, Oscar-winning directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo, The Rescue) point their lenses to the sky, covering the inspirational rise of SpaceX and Elon Musk's two-decade effort to resurrect America's space travel ambitions. Offering rare access inside the first crewed mission launched from U.S. soil since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011, this is an intimate portrait of the engineers and astronauts chosen for the historic moment. Following NASA veterans Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley, and their families in the leadup to launch, RETURN TO SPACE brings viewers along for their thrilling ride to the International Space Station, and into mission control with Musk and the SpaceX team as they bring them back to Earth for a dramatic splashdown return.

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Spencer P

A space program catch-up documentary that covers all the bases, including where humans fall short, and still provides some sense of excitement for what's to come.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/06/23

Full Review

Henggao C

Return to Space gives more context into the efforts of SpaceX and Elon Musk. I think it was logical and informative. People don't like this movie because they dislike Elon Musk which is unfair to the the film. After a film is release, only what is captured on screen should be evaluated. We need to correctly the set the boundary of the review.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

patrick f

I didn't know much about SpaceX prior to seeing this film. It was really inspiring to see such a talented group of scientists and engineers get the USA back in the space game so to speak. Such a monumental task called for technological breakthroughs that were not inevitable. Very well done and informative film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Sience Fiction coming to life.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I didn't know much about SpaceX prior to seeing this film. It was really inspiring to see such a talented group of scientists and engineers get the USA back in the space game so to speak. Such a monumental task called for technological breakthroughs that were not inevitable. Very well done and informative film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Documentaries aren't really my thing, but I still ended up enjoying this one. "Return to Space" does suffer from the poor acting that documentary films usually bare, however, it does also give a pretty good insight on the life of Elon Musk and what can be expected in years to come. Overall, I liked it: wasn't great, but wasn't awful either.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

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Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Director

Jimmy Chin

Director

Bob Behnken

Self

Doug Hurley

Self

Hans Koenigsmann

Self

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New on Netflix in April 2022

Return to Space: Trailer 1

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Christy Lemire

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

Disappointing... Ultimately feels like an infomercial for Elon Musk.

Apr 19, 2022

Full Review

Nick Schager

The Daily Beast

Return to Space is less about the particular value of setting up shop on Mars than it is about mankind’s need to keep moving forward. It’s a heartening and hopeful film about inventors and dreamers.

Apr 11, 2022

Full Review

Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

It’s fabulously watchable, even at 128 minutes, because we learn more about these humans than about their machines. Returning to space is about the dream of a better humanity, not just money. On that level it is good to invest a little hope.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 7, 2022

Full Review

Rahul Desai

News9 Live (India)

That I had to constantly remind myself that Return to Space is real life — and not a big-budget spectacle — is as much an ode to new-age film-making as it is a lament on the luckiness of new-age viewing.

Jul 20, 2022

Full Review

Christian Gallichio

The Playlist

After two films that weren’t afraid to embrace subjectivity and point-of-view to create suspense—i.e. the entire last third of “Free Solo”—“Return to Space” is a bit too neatly packaged and overly idealistic about what SpaceX might mean for space travel.

Rated: C+

May 13, 2022

Full Review

Jana Monji

Age of the Geek

How much you enjoy this Netflix dog may depend upon how much you enjoy watching Elon Musk. This is less a documentary and more a Musk commercial.

Rated: 2/5

Apr 21, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

For the first time, Oscar-winning directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo, The Rescue) point their lenses to the sky, covering the inspirational rise of SpaceX and Elon Musk's two-decade effort to resurrect America's space travel ambitions. Offering rare access inside the first crewed mission launched from U.S. soil since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011, this is an intimate portrait of the engineers and astronauts chosen for the historic moment. Following NASA veterans Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley, and their families in the leadup to launch, RETURN TO SPACE brings viewers along for their thrilling ride to the International Space Station, and into mission control with Musk and the SpaceX team as they bring them back to Earth for a dramatic splashdown return.

Director: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 7, 2022