WISE Score
An asteroid miner wanders a generic alien planet in a sci-fi survival story that struggles to stay in orbit.
Long Distance is the kind of movie you find on a plane and still consider turning off. It’s a middle-of-the-road survival story that doesn't have the scientific wit of The Martian or the prehistoric hook of 65.
If your kid is a sci-fi completionist, it’s a harmless enough watch, but with an audience score sitting at 45%, most families will find this one pretty forgettable. It’s not 'bad' in a way that’s fun to clown on; it’s just 'mid' in a way that wastes an afternoon.
Best for 12 or 13 and up. Younger kids will likely find the isolation scenes boring, and the survival peril is calibrated for the middle-school-and-up crowd.
The core plot is a rescue mission driven by the desire to save a stranger, which is a solid foundation. However, the survival-at-all-costs grit keeps it from being truly 'wholesome' in a traditional sense.
It offers the standard sci-fi kit: alien terrain, high-tech mining gear, and survival gadgets. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it builds a functional enough world for the genre.
Expect standard PG-13 sci-fi peril—crashes, harsh environments, and likely some alien encounters. It’s safe for the intended teen audience but might be too intense for younger kids who can't handle isolation themes.
While it touches on persistence and human connection, the execution is fairly generic. It’s more of a popcorn survival flick than a deep exploration of the human condition.
Sci-fi survival movies usually live or die by two things: the charisma of the lead and the cleverness of the 'how do I get out of this' mechanics. Long Distance has a decent lead in Anthony Ramos, but the mechanics feel like they were pulled from a 'Survival Movie 101' handbook.
The movie follows the classic 'walk from point A to point B' structure, which is a tough sell for modern kids used to the rapid-fire pacing of Marvel or even more creative indie sci-fi. Because the protagonist is mostly alone, a lot of the dialogue is internal or directed at AI/comms, which can feel repetitive.
Compare this to something like 65 (Adam Driver vs. Dinosaurs). While 65 wasn't a masterpiece, it had dinosaurs. Long Distance has... harsh terrain and the idea of a survivor. If you're looking for a survival story that actually sparks a conversation about resilience or science, you're better off re-watching the classics. This one is strictly for when you've run out of everything else in the queue.
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