Passengers

I may have mentioned in prior reviews that sci-fi is not one of my favorite genres, probably because so many of them are amazingly similar. A few exceptions come to mind: "2001: A Space Odyssey" '68, "The Day the Earth Stood Still", '51, "Silent Running" 71, "Event Horizon" '97 to mention a few. So when I saw my first trailer of "Passengers" I felt this would be one of those sci-fi films that would have that uniqueness that is important in this day of mediocrity.

 

The spaceship, Starship Avalon, in its 120-year voyage to a distant colony planet known as the "Homestead Colony" and transporting 5,259 people, has a malfunction in two of its sleep chambers. As a result of two hibernation pods opening prematurely and two of the people awakening, Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) and Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence), are stranded on the spaceship still 90 years from their destination. What actually caused them to wake up and are they able to get back to 'sleep' as to be able to make their destination?

 

Others to round out the cast are Michael Sheen as Arthur, Laurence Fishburne as Gus Mancuso, Andy Garcia as Captain Norris, Vince Foster as Executive Officer, Julee Cerda as Instructor (hologram) and Jon Spaihts as Voice of Autodoc.

 

This was well directed by Morten Tyldum ("Buddy" '03, "Fallen Angels" '08, "Headhunters" '11, "The Imitation Game" '14) plus shorts and TV. The way he was able to get his actors to exude an alarming and lonely character is well executed. His lead character in "The Imitation Game" was similar in that he was an extremely lonely character, however he chose to be. It was uniquely written by Jon Spaihts ("The Darkest Hour" '11, "Prometheus" '12, "Dr. Strange" '16). This writer certainly isn't a prolific one, but the films he's written are outright quality. If you like his writing, a reboot of "The Mummy" is in post production and will be released in 2017. Other than a couple of very small slow places in script, this storyline was amazingly unique. It is extremely difficult to capture an audience's attention for nearly a 2 hour running time with only four people with any sizeable part in the film, and this writer was actually able to pull it off. As with other big-budget films, the visual effects predominantly designed by MPC (Moving Picture Company) were amazingly seamless.

 

Whether you are a sci-fi fan or not, this is not only an interesting sci-fi flick, but one that is an incredibly well-crafted film as well. It entertains and the chemistry between Lawrence and Pratt is delineated with perfection. This one is worthy of viewing on the large screen, because it will lose everything on a 40 incher.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                  Rated: PG-13                                   116mins.