James Cameron And George Clooney's Forgotten 2002 Sci-Fi Movie Deserves A Second Chance

Polish sci-fi author Stanislaw Lem's influential 1961 novel "Solaris" was first adapted to the screen for Soviet television in 1968. The 1972 Andrei Tarkovsky-directed adaptation was a sci-fi movie ahead of its time, influencing generations of auteur filmmakers from Akira Kurosawa to Christopher Nolan. 30 years later, a James Cameron-produced remake starring George Clooney released to fairly lukewarm critical reception and poor box office returns that failed to cover the movie's production budget.

Written and directed by Steven Soderbergh, 2002's "Solaris" stars Clooney as Dr. Chris Kelvin, a psychologist tasked with figuring out why the crew of the space station orbiting the titular planet aren't acting like themselves. In the process, he too succumbs to the planet's mysterious energy. Critics predicted that the film's slow pace, lack of action, and overall ambiguity wouldn't be met well by mainstream audiences, and they were correct. Not only did few people show up, but those that did gave it a failing F Cinemascore grade — a notoriously difficult score to reach.

But the general consensus, especially in retrospective appraisals, is that "Solaris" is an excellent psychological space drama for those willing to put in the work to grasp it. It is often included in discussions of the best movie remakes, with some even asserting that it's superior to the 1972 version. 

Despite working in Hollywood for close to 50 years and generating billions at the box office (only one other name tops him as the highest-grossing director worldwide), James Cameron has only directed 10 movies as of this writing. But his filmography balloons when including movies that he only wrote or produced. And "Solaris" ended up among them, with Cameron only credited as a producer, as his original plans to write and direct were abandoned when his schedule didn't allow it. 

Eventually, "Ocean's 11" and "Erin Brockovich" director Steven Soderbergh pitched how he would approach a "Solaris" movie to Cameron. Impressed, he let Soderbergh steer the ship creatively while taking on a producer role.

In some cases, such as Cameron's "Spider-Man" movie that never got made, he lost all connection to the final product. Other times, like with "Alita: Battle Angel," he found himself too busy to direct, though his script was still used. "Solaris" marks one of the only times that Cameron got the ball rolling on a project and remained on board — albeit in a more creatively hands off way.