It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Which came first? The chicken or the egg? Stephen Hawking is an astrophysicist and quantum mechanic and has contributed numerous works now seminal to theories on the origins of the universe. He is widely regarded a genius; he considers this to be balderdash. Hawking himself has said, "They needed somebody to fill the role model of disabled genius. At least I'm disabled." I hope this film didn't leave any hardcore physicist type behinds when it actually presented the story of Hawking as a person and not an educational lecture on the specifics of quantum mechanics; of course this was never the goal of the film. It's about Hawking. Not QM. The film is not a technical masterpiece: basic documentary techniques are used. Few to no frills. Talking heads, basic photograph slideshows, b-roll, and a tiny, tiny handful of mood shots. The filmmakers have called attention to the edits on the interviews by leaving a split second of blackspace between the cuts. I consider this a sign of respect to the audience's intelligence. (That comment might not make much sense unless you've cut interviews). The Philip Glass soundtrack is beautiful and perfect. It is, if anything, too minimal... but layering drama strings over the telling of these stories too much would probably be trite. It's not outside the realm of possibility, in my mind, that more soundtracking of the interviews might have been attempted and it was decided that it was cheapening the film. I kind of suspect--and this is completely reckless, baseless speculation; I could be completely wrong on this--his real question is not "how" or "when" did the universe begin... but "WHY" did the universe begin--that is, if it "began" at all. I might regret going out on that limb and have to retract the statement, but it's just this feeling I'm starting to get having familiarized myself with his works and now, thanks to this film, a glimpse of who he is as a person. To me, Hawking's true genius lies mostly in his ability to give the ideas of quantum mechanics to everyone. This film is amazing and uplifting, and Hawking is triumphant on many levels.

Errol Morris's "A Brief History of Time" manages to be, in its succinct 80 minutes, a moving biopic and a thought-provoking documentary. Based on the best-selling book of the same name by British cosmologist Stephen Hawking (1942- ), it is accessible for those who are not science experts (without being condescending), yet still have an interest in questions about the origins of the universe and, therefore, ourselves (will time ever come to an end? which came first, the chicken or the egg?; and so on).Featuring interviews with the Hawkings (Isobel and Mary Hawkings, Stephen's mom and sister, respectively), Janet Humphrey (Stephen's aunt), several people related to the world of science (astrophysicists, professors, researchers, etc.), plus interviews and clips from lectures with Mr. Hawkings himself, we reflect on some of the most fundamental questions about our creation. The beyond reasonable, sensible and bright conclusions presented by this man whose body might be paralyzed, but whose mind is one of the greatest of all time (few would argue against this statement) make this film both a fascinating lecture (or, even better, meditation) and an inspirational life story. And with his fantastic reasoning and suavity, Hawkings ends up proving (as far as reasoning can prove, or define, the power of faith), the very existence of God. A great achievement of filmmaking, perception, philosophy, science, and perseverance. Bravo, Mr. Hawkings. Bravo, Mr. Errol Morris.

I have been a huge Errol Morris fan ever since I saw Thin Blue Line and heard it saved a life. To date, this movie is his best piece of work.The plot is a mixing of Stephen Hawking's Book of the same title intertwined with the man's life. The story is told through interviews with family, friends, and Hawkings himself.Don't be fooled; It totally sounds boring but the whole package is dynamic and thought provoking. The blending of life and theories is seamless and thoroughly entertaining. I was particularly moved at how well they humanize this genius and omniscient man. Tho physically powerless, Hawking's greatness and shear brilliance is encapsulated into a real live human being that we are allowed to laugh at and aw over at the same time.Find this movie. Watch it and enjoy. And if the studio who owns this picture reads this, A 15 year Anniversary edition would be perfect NOW...

Subject Matter: Cosmology, Quantum Physics and Stephen HawkingSoundtrack: Phillip GlassHave I died and gone to Heaven? You will be enraptured.