Yet another expedition sets off to find a new home for the human race; a sci-fi staple since at least 'When Worlds Collide' nearly sixty years ago.

Doomsday in the movies has regularly been postponed over the years ('Lost in Space', for example, was set in 1997) and is this time further delayed until the mid-21st century when depletion of the means to feed ourselves ("the world needs farmers") provides the ticking clock.

Since most of the film remains indoors (thank God! Since the camera usually wobbles maddeningly during most of the exterior scenes) the film remains pristine looking in the best tradition of sci-fi filmmaking (especially Anne Hathaway in a spacesuit). But it's nearly three hours long and somebody really should have told the cast - especially Matthew McConaughey - to stop mumbling, speak up and talk faster.

And as usual any pretence at sustaining a narrative is ultimately discarded in favour of a welter of special effects.