“The Space Between Us,” directed by Peter Chelsom, was released in theaters on Feb. 3, is a 2-hour-long sci-fi movie about the life of the first human born on Mars.

Set sometime in the future, the story begins when five astronauts are sent on the first mission to colonize Mars.

Unbeknownst to Nathaniel Shepard (Gary Oldman, “Child 44”), head of the program that launched the mission, one of the astronauts, Sarah Elliot (Janet Montgomery, “Salem”) is pregnant and is due for delivery when they arrive on Mars. Months later, Elliot dies in childbirth, leaving her son with the other astronauts on Mars. Unable to return to Earth for medical reasons, Gardner Elliot (Asa Butterfield, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”) spends the next 16 years of his life on Mars.

Once it becomes apparent that his isolation is affecting his emotional health, he is finally allowed to return to Earth after several months of therapy and surgery. Shortly after arriving, he breaks out of quarantine to find his friend with whom he has been secretly communicating for years, Tulsa (Britt Robertson, “A Dog’s Purpose”). The two set off to find Gardner’s birth father, going off of not much more than a photograph Gardner has of his parents.

The pacing of the movie after this point is somewhat awkward. Things progress at a fast pace, without any clear indication of exactly how much time is passing from one scene to the next. The unclear and awkward pacing makes it seem like the two protagonists are accomplishing much more in such a short amount of time than they should be for their age.

Though a level of surrealism is to be expected from a movie like this, in the sci-fi genre, a good portion of the events during the cat-and-mouse game that takes place for most of the second half of the movie seems a bit over-the-top, unrealistic and questionable. Most of the feats that Gardner and Tulsa accomplish to escape their pursuers seem to be a bit much given their ages, including Tulsa’s ability to successfully steal vehicle after vehicle without consequence.

The tension throughout most of the action scenes is just enough to keep viewers on the edge of their seats, though the story is predictable enough that viewers know what the outcome of any confrontation would be anyway. The movie has a strong premise that is executed well enough to be a satisfying watch despite the story’s predictability.

The actors and the characters more than make up for whatever the plot execution lacks. The characters are extremely well-developed in terms of backstory as well as personality and all of them are satisfyingly and realistically human.

The acting is phenomenal and every single actor does justice to the well-developed characters by portraying them with the right amount of emotion.

The relationships between characters are complex enough to create tension and drama, but not so complex that things become confusing. The comedy within the dialogue lightens the mood when appropriate and keeps things casual and realistic.

Overall, despite its odd pacing and apparent predictability, “The Space Between Us” is an enjoyable movie-watching experience. The themes present within the story are handled very well, and it has a nice balance between the various genres and story elements.