Rating: PG | Runtime: 105 minutes
Release Date: November 4th, 2022 (USA)
Studio: Amazon Prime Video
Director(s): Ryan White
Writer(s): Ryan White & Helen Kearns

Good night, Opportunity. Well done.

Ryan White’s Good Night Oppy is a cute look back at the lifespan of rovers Spirit and Opportunity. From the initial planning phase (ten years of NASA declining Steve Squyres’ proposals only to have them finally accept when piggybacking onto another mission), to two years of construction and logistical problem solving, to their extended period of life on Mars (the planned 90 days reaching over 5000). It displays the feat of ingenuity and imagination mankind possesses.

The CGI reenactments were a bit uninspiring to me at first, but the film eventually (better late than never) starts using sequences where the picture is built by the black and white images Opportunity took before seamlessly transitioning to the color Industrial Light and Magic footage. They weren’t therefore just arbitrary animated sequences. They were grounded in the data to approximate what the robot experienced.

The whole is informative and easy to follow (the subjects mention how the adventure of it all was crucial to giving NASA a way to attract new generations without getting bogged down by the science). The structure is conventional yet smooth. And the bits where those involved in the project humanize the machines and compare them to their own lives and family members are touching.

It’s a solid documentary that bridges education with entertainment without really concerning itself with trying to do anything extra for success.

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A scene from GOOD NIGHT OPPY; courtesy of Prime.