Postcard from Earth (2023) Poster

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9/10
Stunning visuals - not a movie
darrylmsmith12 November 2023
Unbelievable images as if you are flying the earth This could only work at the sphere. It is an EXPERIENCE.

If you go in expecting a "movie" you be slightly disappointed. Although it kinda has a story, it is more conceptual sci-if fantasy that's really pulled together by the absolutely amazing images, the sound system, the seating, and the fullness of the "screen".

You will look in all directions and be amazed. This isn't a spoiler review because I am not giving away the "plot".

Sit back and enjoy the ride. Just being at the sphere outside is amazing. If you add that end it's definitely a must-do.
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9/10
The Sphere and "Postcard from Earth" is a triumph
jamiemcpherson-7887815 December 2023
We had booked to see this Sphere experience for quite a few months so were really looking forward to it.

Whilst waiting we started to read Trip Advisor reviews and I was disappointed in the level of negativity towards the Sphere and this movie. Is it a great movie to watch at your local cinema or even an IMAX, definitely no.

However I'm assuming it was made for the Sphere and in this location with the immersive screen and sound experience it was simply stunning.

Yes the tickets are not cheap and getting in presented a few challenges but was it worth it? 100% yes as my partner and I thought it was incredible and absolutely stunning and unlike anything we had ever experienced.

On a David Attenborough level the visuals were fantastic and at first we thought the image would only be on the huge screen, but the images covered the whole ceiling so seeing Giraffes look right over you or an Elephant stomp past you with your seat shaking under his huge feet was amazing.

We loved it and the films message is not preachy or patronising it is sadly reality and how anyone can deny it's message is beyond me.

I'd go again tomorrow if I could.
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8/10
Like the Qatsy Experience
BornKnight12 December 2023
As I couldn't go to The Sphere in Las Vegas to see it I had a partial experience watching in it on youtube where some posters did put all the experience. An experimental movie for viewing in 270º 4D experience shoot in 18k (note: understate 4D as interactive) showing evolution of live in Earth.

Not very innovative as there is more than one movie with these theme for special environments for watching, but very well done as expected by Darren Aronofsky, but not as innovative as I would expect.

Similar to watch Qatsy trilogy. I would score without the interactive experience as a 8.0 out of 10.0 movie / A-
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10/10
Spectacular! Inspiring! But also sad.
lccbvegas23 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
People who dislike this movie either don't believe in science or they just hate earth. I have never known someone who is anti-earth.

So in this movie (remember this is a movie so not everything is 100% factual) Mother Earth is the star. She created life. She nourished it and watched it flourish. And in return we worshipped her. We celebrated her. But then we began destroying her. And we didn't stop. No matter how many warnings she gave us we kept going. No matter how many chances she gave us to redeem ourselves and save her, we kept chipping away at her core. Little by little, piece by piece scarring her, destroying us. Until we have to leave her and allow her to repair all the damage we have caused which, with time, will happen. Now, knowing what we already know, we begin again on a new planet. Which will be treated with respect, kindness and most importantly, love. Love for one another, peace for everyone. The message is clear...we are all we have.

The visuals at Sphere are stunning. The sphere itself is stunning. The sound quality is incredible. The seats rumble & shake. The story is haunting. It makes you feel sad about what we've done and what we continue to do. I've heard people say the "political undertone" is too strong. They must be talking about the portrayal of how earth was created and the role science plays. The movie has no representation of a god and that really upsets people. To those people I say "it's a movie"!

This was an awe inspiring experience that I highly recommend.
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8/10
A First of Its Kind Experience
Neill479721 April 2024
While the narrative might lack engagement, *Postcard From Earth* compensates generously through an overwhelming, visually arresting spectacle that unfolds on the most enormous scale possible.

For the most part, the imagery of *Postcard from Earth* is quite simple, encapsulating vast landscapes, along with footage of both animals and humans. The Sphere's immense screen, enveloping over 180 degrees of the auditorium and boasting a startling 16K resolution, elevates these images to another level. The visual experience extends beyond conventional boundaries, offering an overwhelming and enthralling cinematic immersion.

The pinnacle moment of *Postcard From Earth* arrives when the screen expands from a standard cinema screen size to 160 square feet, provoking audible gasps from the audience, including myself. The scale achieved at this juncture is nothing short of jaw-dropping, creating a unique cinematic moment that remains etched in my memory.

While the film excels in its overall visual impact, there are sporadic instances where specific special effects are unconvincing. This may be due to a higher frame rate than a conventional film. Nevertheless, these CGI shots are infrequent and do not significantly diminish the film's overall visual grandeur.
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6/10
Stunning images, terrible structure
kendoherty17 October 2023
So yes, the images that are used after the first five minutes or so and the picture stretches to fill Spheres screen are stunning at first, but there is nothing to hold the film together: the voiceover is just babble and the two 'actors' are like escapees from a deodorant advert. David Attenborough has been doing something similar on a far smaller budget for the last 50 years.

Go and see it if you're in Vegas to see something on this vast screen but any future films made for screening here need to find someone who can match the images with a storyline and characters that are worth investing time in.
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4/10
See Abject Squalor and Feel Depressed About a Dying Planet
actaction30 January 2024
You get more flies with honey than vinegar, but this film is determined to ruin your day... but don't worry the rich will be able to leave to a new world to wreck so that Earth can be returned to an untouched vista in which (you guessed it) the rich can vacation without all those pesky poor people crowding it. I certainly think it was unintentional to show the problem of the world only being 3rd world decay, but rarely are people in business suits seen as the problem (when the rich elite almost certainly consume much more). I'm used to heavy handed messages in nature docs, basically "look how beautiful, don't you want to save it", but Postcards from Earth's solution is leave the wrecked Earth and let it recover without us, rather than learning to live with it. On a giant Sphere screen, nobody really wants to view a full 1/3rd of a film where we get to see poor people picking oranges, poor people living in urban hellscape (with planes flying loudly overhead and nobody looks too happy to be involved with this expensive vision). The audience OOOOOs and AHHHHHs at previous few moments of nature shown, but the depressing message is hammered home over and over. There truly isn't such a thing as subtlety in film anymore. I think the film needed to go one way or the other: either a feel good Disney Nature film with a "save this place" message -or- a downer film where science talks about the harsh reality... but this film is neither. It's bleak, but the solutions of dropping a seed and instantly terraforming a planet is sublimely stupid. And if this solution is possible, why would anyone need to preserve the Earth and leave at all? Just drop a seed every few years and start again when the planet dies? The film ignores responsibility for an easy answer. Is it really ECO for a single couple to travel space? Shouldn't there be a lot more people? Where are all the poor people? Did you leave them on Earth? And in what universe would everybody "leave voluntarily"? Have you met any confederate people from the south? Or a New Yorker. No way they're leaving their hellhole. The film should have been brighter and with more fun, a message is fine, but how about a realistic one?
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5/10
Stunning visuals and hypocritical guilt!
gregg-greene4 December 2023
There's nothing quite like going to the gaudiest city in the world and entering the brightest building in the world, an electronic marvel costing north of $3 billion, and then getting lectured on how humans have ruined the pristine Earth. Beautiful images on the sphere surface for half of this 50 minute "film" and then 25 minutes of lecturing us on how we should just leave the Earth.

Reminded me a lot of the climate change activists that fly private jets across the world to tell me why I shouldn't drive a gas car.

However the Sphere itself was incredible, inside and out, and the nature scenes were absolutely incredible.
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2/10
Some really stunning visuals and audio ruined by a terrible story
mitchel-272-29408025 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
There are parts of this movie that are truly wonderful. The aerial shots, the animals, etc. The audio is the best I've ever heard. This makes IMAX look and sound like a 70s tide television.

The problem is the story. This descends into a poorly written treatise about how humans are destroying the earth. It may have been excusable if it was well written. The irony of the movie - clearly lost on everyone involved in the production - is that it rails against humans building enormous structures blemishing the earth when the movie was only possible in this form because of the biggest video venue ever built in a town full of ridiculously huge buildings.

I'd go back to the Sphere again but not to see this.
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2/10
Over Promised, Under Delivered
Watchy-McWatchface21 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The Las Vegas Sphere is an amazing venue. Just walking up to the giant orb is exciting, and walking in reveals an artistic and modern environment that is both electric and somehow serene. Postcard From Earth makes the most of the 18,000 seat venue with amazing cinematography and sound. Individual seats shake and pulse to add emphasis to key scenes of the film. And that's where the good parts end.

The film's scenes show some wonderful vistas of our planet and do so in amazing ways. However some of the choices are too familiar and therefore less inspired. But if the film had continued with a musical soundtrack only, it would have been passable.

Then the story and narration began. And that's where this film fails. Miserably.

The story starts with an interesting premise. But the plot's logic is contrived and weak. And the narration about who we are and where we came from is just poorly written.

Some examples:

"Life created itself." Oh really? So spontaneous generation is now considered good science? Wow! I didn't know nothing could create something.

(Insert eye roll here.)

During the scenes that show beautiful churches, mosques, synagogues, and other religious ceremonies, the narrator claims that people were really "worshipping Earth." Really?

The script uses presumptive language to present these and other fallacies as fact.

Considering the 50 minutes running time, the ticket cost per minute is exorbitant. And the pay for such nonsense just doesn't pay off.

Skip Postcard From Earth.
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5/10
Beautiful but weirdly bad story, go see it with low story expectations
vm83848 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The sphere is amazing, inside and out, everything is insanely over priced but it is Vegas. They shove you in and then herd you out for the next show. For what you pay you should be given more time to enjoy the sphere interior before and after the show. And then there is the movie. Amazing resolution, truly astounding technology.

Spoilers follow so read more only if you don't mind spoilers.

Apparently after we destroy the earth with pollution and greed. Which admittedly we are doing. Humans decide to send one man and one woman to millions of planets across the galaxy that are lifeless but capable of supporting life and infect them an galactic army of inbred destroyers insuring the absolute destruction of not just the earth but all of existence.

The movie is visually amazing but corny, tone deaf and just stupid. Over all I enjoyed it I have to admit.
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3/10
Forget entertainment, all humans are bad
jasonmyermts7 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Great screen and audio, but... Seating is so steep, tough for some.

Film is slow in parts (and only 50m long) Film pushes a heavy narrative, all humans think they are the center of the world and are destroying Earth.

Ridiculous ending.

Probably should have gone to U2 instead, but they're just as bad as pushing their opinions as fact onto their fans. Such a shame, great music.

Way too many people filming during the film, like the experience is remotely the same. Wish there was more of a show on what the Sphere (outside) could do while there. It just stayed 1 thing. I was hoping for some of the Sphere displays i have seen from a distance or online.

There was very minimal ai / robot entertainment pre-film. Very underwhelming.
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3/10
Breathtaking visuals, no need for Adam and Eve
losalgado8 January 2024
The nature and bustling city visuals were captivating when presented on a screen like that of the Las Vegas Sphere, but there was no need for the science fiction meets global warming Adam and Eve Genesis plot.

I would have been completely happy just watching scenes of the world and its people without the hypocritical climate change narrative and biblical undertone.

The music was well curated for each scene, and it was truly an experience seeing a film in the Sphere; however, combining a politically charged message with a biblical allegory just doesn't sit right with an audience of people in Sin City.
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3/10
Boring and sophomoric
letsgobulls_2422 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Want to see amateur-grade drone footage of different landscapes? How about people doing their laundry in a giant apartment building? Well then, you've come to the right place. The pacing was strange, the cool parts- elephant, ships taking off- were few and far between. The price we paid at The Sphere was outrageously high. I'd never recommend it to anyone and we definitely wouldn't go back. The ticket listing describes it as a "2 hour experience." Theres a few stupid robots in the lobby that are simply google search in android form. Nothing special. Actual showtime is 50 minutes. 2 thumbs way down. And I like documentaries. Good ones.
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3/10
What a Hypocritical Movie!
D0D15 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
So let me get this straight: somebody actually chose THE SPHERE as a location to show a movie about how humanity will eventually destroy Earth by wasting its natural resources? The Sphere is one the most unnecessary monuments to excess in all of human history. That building probably wastes more electricity in one hour than I will use during my entire lifetime! Did the filmmakers truly not foresee the hypocrisy of sending a message about wasting Earth's natural resources...in the Sphere?!?!?!

The visuals of the movie were truly stunning. You will walk away from the movie discussing with others exactly what was real footage and what was CGI. Some of the animals are clearly high quality CGI. There are a couple CGI animals that are done so well that it will make you scratch your head wondering how they made it.

The movie is at its best when showing breathtaking views of planet Earth. It's really too bad that the hypocritical "message" of the movie overshadows the visuals. This movie reminded us of the "Soarin'" rides at Disney World and Disneyland. However, "Soarin'" was a thousand times more enjoyable because I didn't have to deal with some narrator preaching to me about how we are ruining the Earth.

Is humanity destroying planet Earth? I admit that there is a possibility that we are. If this is true, will all of the electricity the Sphere uses make the situation undeniably worse? Absolutely!

Were the tickets for this experience egregiously overpriced? Absolutely!
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1/10
The Sphere Experience with Darren Aronofsky's Postcard From Earth
penguin-8446512 April 2024
Do not waste your money, the show tickets say it starts at 7, when in fact it didnt start until 8 pm. Its alot of trying to sell you there $18 can of beers and other things you could get much cheaper elsewhere. If you are afraid of heights, small spaces this is NOT the venue for you. If you want to be truly depressed for a long while by all means go. But it was not worth the money. If you want to know what it feels like to be packed in a place like sardines. There were people walking out of this show in the middle of it. They sell alcohol here and one false step could be fatal. I do not recommend this show at all. The sphere is a site to see, from the outside, but inside its just a money trap.
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1/10
Not worth it. Not even close
danduke-6308124 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
The visuals are amazing, but all that technology is wasted on a nonsensical story.

Supposedly, humans befouled Earth so badly that the entire population agreed to live on the moon to allow the planet to restore itself to its pre-human glory. Also, humans have learned to perform deep space travel and have created a magical techno-seed that can turn a barren planet into a lush green world in a few minutes. We learned all that, but not how to avoid despoiling Mother Earth.

Gaia good; people bad. (Although a select few people are allowed to spend a little time on Earth now and again - to go mountain climbing and diving!)

I saw this at the Sphere in Vegas. There are beautiful, gasp-worthy moments, but the shots become repetitive. Director Darren Aronofsky understandably wanted to make the most of his nearly 360-degree canvas. But the framing of all too many scenes was nearly identical.

The occasional rumbling of the seats and breeze blowing through the theater were nice, but nothing that I have experience on rides at Busch Gardens. And they were better executed there.

The sound system was impressive, too.

It's not worth all the expense and trouble of seeing it at the Sphere. It certainly wouldn't be worth your time on a 4K home theater set.

It would have been better to just show the beautiful pictures - the sweeping vistas and the stunning close-ups with their natural sounds - than to put them to the service of a lame story.
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