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Documentaries often explore the lives of people who made a difference—whose actions somehow caused people to change the way they lived or worked or viewed the world around them. But the documentary Good Night Oppy introduces viewers to a completely different kind of historical figures—robotic ones—whose lives and work surprised and inspired people around the world.
Good Night Oppy follows the unbelievable story of twin Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. In a time when NASA struggled with setbacks and failed missions, this was a make it or break it mission—and teams spent decades working on the two rovers, hoping that just one would survive the journey. Instead, both of the rovers survived, far outliving the 90 days they were expected to last. And as they continued to explore Mars, searching for signs that water once existed on the planet, they became like family to those following their journey from Earth.
As the mission extends from months into years, Good Night Oppy welcomes viewers into this close-knit community of NASA scientists, engineers, and geologists who became so professionally and personally invested in the project and the two robots who battled the elements and kept on exploring the Red Planet, searching for signs of ancient life. In a way, it’s a documentary version of Pixar’s WALL•E: as the story plays out, you’ll find yourself becoming attached to these two unexpectedly lovable robotic characters, who were built with minds of their own. They’re hardy and determined but sometimes also hesitant to continue or afraid of their own shadow—and that makes them strangely human.
At the same time, you’ll get to know these human figures, their personalities, and sometimes even their personal lives, too. And over the course of the mission, you’ll experience the highs and lows, the challenges and accomplishments, right along with them.
In crafting the film, director Ryan White took all of the pieces—the interviews, the archive footage, the score, the narration by Angela Bassett, the team’s daily wake-up songs, and the striking CGI renderings—and created a surprisingly powerful experience. It may be a documentary, but it has all of the tension, the drama, and the emotions of an award season drama.
If you’ve always thought of documentaries as dry and dull, Good Night Oppy might just change your mind. It may be a film about scientists and robots, but it’s entertaining and inspiring and surprisingly emotional, too.
Meet the rovers and their team in Good Night Oppy in theaters starting on November 4, 2022—and on Prime Video beginning on November 23, 2022.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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