In “Solaris,” Steven Soderbergh’s remake of the 1974 sci-fi classic, one finds a movie that does not do anything other than waste film.

“Solaris” starts off as a slow movie and is one of the rare movies that actually manages to become utterly stagnant by the last minute. The movie is played off as a psychological and emotional journey in the previews and seems to give a half-hearted attempt that quickly dies.

George Clooney plays the lead as Dr. Chris Kelvin, a psychologist called to investigate strange phenomena happening at a space station by the planet Solaris. Kelvin soon finds that memories and people from the past mysteriously appear to haunt those in the space station.

Although Clooney has shown significant acting skills in various movies, he is a bit too unbelievable in his role as an emotionally stricken Dr. Kelvin.

Natascha McElhone, as Rheya Kelvin, ends up with much the same problem and only vaguely communicates the emotionality that the film is supposed to be built upon. With the two unemotional main actors and only two supporting actors with a minimum of script time, it is easy to see why the film goes nowhere fast.

Soderbergh has tackled a movie that is beyond translation into today’s entertainment standards. Although he is praised for cutting away the excess of the original “Solaris,” it seems that Soderbergh was too aggressive with the butcher’s knife and left the audience submerged in a haze of mediocrity. Soderbergh deserves a little credit for the dazzling sci-fi visuals and moments reminiscent of Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.” However, Soderbergh should find his own cinematic and directing tricks because all he succeeds in doing is making the movie even more mentally suffocating. In the end, “Solaris” comes off as a watered-down and sappy synthesis of “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “Event Horizon.”

The film adds one moment of comedic relief that is ultimately insufficient to relieve the boredom and ended up seeming out of place. Soderbergh also teases the audience a few times with an eerie feeling that almost tricks the audience into feeling suspense. The scenes of blood or death are presented in a sort of “oh darn” fashion that could have been far more developed to present the psychological and emotional feel that the movie purports to have.

“Solaris” would have the audience immersed in the depths of thought about love, life and memory, yet Soderbergh instead immerses us in a stagnant cesspool of monotony. After sitting through the movie, waiting for a plot to actually develop, any respect for Soderbergh’s attempt at the remake disappears. Contemplating the issues of love and memory the writer and director intended would be giving attention where it is surely not due.

For those who watched the trailer and wondered whether there was a plot to this movie, rest assured that most will think the same after watching the whole film. “Solaris” is, for the most part, confined to the realm of diehard science fiction fans who enjoy a free-fall into incoherence. Unless your entire favorite movie repertoire is based in outer space or possibly if you are on a mind-altering substance, I recommend staying far away from “Solaris.”