Finally, the gritty reboot of Around the World in 80 Days my generation has demanded.

Though not strictly an adaptation of that famous novel, The Aeronauts does involve its own hot air balloon as the key setting. This story, though, is loosely based on a true one. Eddie Redmayne’s character, James Glaisher, is a real historical figure, and a pioneering meteorologist. His co-pilot on many hot air adventures, though was not “Amelia Wren” (Felicity Jones) as seen in the movie, but a man named Henry Tracey Coxwell. In The Aeronauts, Redmayne and Jones work together to use ballooning technology to find the “answers in the sky” about how to predict the weather.

Here is the trailer; it really should have featured a sad cover version of the Fifth Dimension’s “Up, Up and Away.”

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:

In 1862, daredevil balloon pilot Amelia Wren (Felicity Jones) teams up with pioneering meteorologist James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne) to advance human knowledge of the weather and fly higher than anyone in history. While breaking records and advancing scientific discovery, their voyage to the very edge of existence helps the unlikely pair find their place in the world they have left far below them. But they face physical and emotional challenges in the thin air, as the ascent becomes a fight for survival.

The Aeronauts opens in theaters on December 6. It premieres at the Telluride and Toronto International Film Festival next month.

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