Sputnik

 3/4

Starring: Oksana Akinshina, Fedor Bondarchuk, Pyotr Fyodorov, Anton Vasilev

Not Rated (probable R for Sci-Fi Violence and Gore)

"Sputnik" resists formulas and easy payoffs.  It's too ambitious for that.  Although it is in many ways a traditional sci-fi/horror flick, it is willing to follow through with its ideas.  That makes it a cut above most American alien movies.  It's not a perfect movie, but it is effective.

Tatyana Klimova (Akinshina) is not in a good mood.  After bending the rules to save the life of a patient, her superiors threw her under the bus.  Now, she's about to lose her license.  Help comes when a military officer named Semiradov (Bondarchuk) comes to her with an extraordinary opportunity for redemption.  He heads a top secret research facility where a man with an unbelievable secret is being held.  He is Konstantin Veshnyakov (Fyodorov), a cosmonaut who has recently returned to Earth.  He has a parasite inside of him that comes out in the middle of the night.  Semiradov tasks Tatyana with studying the creature and helping Veshnyakov.  Of course, she soon finds out that it's not quite that simple.

Anyone expecting a monster on the loose movie like "Alien" is going to be disappointed.  Oh, it has tension and gore alright, but the film is based more on ideas than cheap shocks and visceral thrills.  Actually, the film has more in common with "Prometheus," which was a similar mix of science-fiction and horror.  However, while the 2012 film dealt with the nature of humanity, this film is about ethics.  For example, what is the greater good?  What can be sacrificed in the name of such a thing?  And how many secrets could, and should, be kept to get there?  These aren't new questions for this genre, but they are presented effectively in a story where no one has just one motive.  Or a consistent one.

The performances are effective.  Leading the cast without effort is Oksana Akinshina, who clearly has only gained talent since her stunning performance in "Lilya-4-Ever."  Tatyana is as tough as they come, and when faced with the unimaginable, she stops at nothing to get the job done.  She's also smart; Tatyana is able to adapt to new developments and use guile or sensitivity to get what she wants.  Fedor Bondarchuk is also good as a man whose ambition and belief in the greater good have coincided.  Pyotr Fyodorov apparently has talent that he either forgot or chose not to show in the 2015 stinker "The Duelist."  He can be creepy or sympathetic, depending on the situation.  Veshnyakov is the most mysterious and dynamic character in the film, and the actor doesn't miss a beat.  Finally there is Anton Vasilev, who isn't as nebbish as he seems.

One thing I can say about Egor Abramenko is that he knows genre flicks.  The beginning actually starts out just like a summer adventure movie, complete with the heroine taking the fall for doing the right thing and the oh-so-convenient appearance of a man who offers her a way out.  There's the threatening music, the ominous dialogue about what she's about to see, and so on.  It's all here, and I admit to getting a kick out of recognizing the well-worn genre tropes.  But unlike many American movies, it's not a bait-and-switch.  He follows through on the ideas the plot raises, and is willing to toy with these issues.  "Sputnik" is smart.  Actually, that presents the film's downside.  The dialogue is at times dense and the characters don't pause to make sure we get what they are talking about.  A rewind button or, more likely, a second viewing will be helpful.

"Sputnik," which as nothing to do with the first satellite launched into space, is a niche movie.  Sci-fi junkies such as myself will appreciate it.  Subtitle-adverse audiences or those who don't want to use their brains will not.