Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Credit: Amazon Prime Video

As you read this, there are a trio of robots alive and well and purging Mars of its secrets: NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers, as well as China’s wheeled Zhurong machinery.

All this get-up-and-go on the Red Planet owes a major thank you to two earlier robotic explorers: NASA’s Spirit and Opportunity that landed on the planet in 2004.

Both had expected lifetimes of about 90 days, a warranty that was greatly surpassed.

Of the two, Spirit was first to expire. After March 22, 2010, mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) were not able to regain contact with Spirit. NASA officially concluded its recovery efforts May 25, 2011.

The Opportunity Mars rover was declared dead to that world on February 13, 2019 more than eight months after the robot fell mute during an intense dust storm. Final calls to awaken the rover yielded no response.

Good Night Oppy is a film that primarily focuses on the story of Opportunity, a live-long-and-prosper robot that survived for 15 years trekking about on Mars. But the film is far more than a travelogue of technology clunking its way on that distant world.

What has been captured is an emotional link between humans and automatons, the thrill of exploration, and even heartbreak given Opportunity’s last picture show. The robot was a product of years of teamwork, tenacity, and determined will to open up Mars to a new set of scouting eyes. Following its airbag-bouncing landing, Opportunity delivered on every expectation and delivered so much more.

Good Night Oppy premiered at the recent Telluride Film Festival, now moving to theatrical release from Amazon on November 4, followed by its availability on Amazon Prime Video starting November 23.

Ryan White is the film’s director, and co-writer. White and colleagues have produced a truly moving account of the unexpected fifteen-year sojourn of Opportunity and the surprising bond that formed between the robot and the team of scientists and engineers operating the probe, wheeling and dealing with what Mars threw at them.

Featuring photo-real special visual effects and animation by Industrial Light & Magic and the voice of Angela Bassett, Good Night Oppy charts Oppy’s unforgettable journey – and delivers on the promise that Mars still has much to tell us.

Go to this Good Night Oppy Official Trailer at:

https://youtu.be/W4t58Yruhds

One Response to “Film Review: Good Night Oppy”