Director Morten Tyldum previously dramatized the story of Alan Turing, the father of the computer in The Imitation Game. He goes far from Oscar-bait into Science Fiction for Passengers. Its plot twists have shocked some viewers but not me. I thought the voyage was OK.
Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) is one of 5000 colonists aboard the starship Avalon. The whole personnel is asleep in cryotubes for a 120-year voyage to the planet Homestead II. But a meteor shower jolts Jim awake 30 years in. Jim can't go back to cryobed because the ship's makers are idiots who can't foresee the possibility of failure. So Jim's all alone except for the android bartender Arthur (Michael Sheen) and other droids. Plus side is, he can do anything he wants.
But Jim's bored without other conscious humans. He decides that journalist Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence) will be his companion and wakes her. He knows that he can't put her back to cryo either. He tells her that her cryotube screwed up too. And a friendship is born. Little do they know that the Avalon is on the verge of doom. They'll have to find a way to stop it.
Jim and Aurora's relationship is founded on lies and deceit. But the film does admit that Jim is in the wrong ... then sweeps that aside. Halfway through, our couple is joined by another premature awakened guy, Gus Mancuso (Laurence Fishburne). He tells Aurora that it's natural for a drowning man (i.e. Jim) to try to take someone with him. That's not love. Their relationship would've worked if Aurora was indeed jolted awake. It would've also jolted the plot awake too.
What about the characters we have? Jim starts off as a likable, funny guy. He is sympathetic when his isolation gets to him and tests that sympathy when he wakes Aurora. Aurora's fury once she realizes the deception is perfectly understandable. Michael Sheen's Arthur provides great comic relief. Gus Mancuso is a cool character taken too soon. Andy Garcia is too big a name for his wordless cameo as the Avalon's captain in the very last scene.
The visual effects team is among the ten shortlisted for Oscar consideration. They visualize a pretty cool ship designed by Guy Hendrix Dyas. The Avalon is a nice place for a cruise if you can afford it. A gravity loss which nearly drowns Aurora in a floating pool is a visual highlight. Jim and Aurora's space walks were pretty awesome too. Thomas Newman sets these visuals to another memorable score.
Passengers' love story just needed a few rewrites to be romantic. It does work as a satire of suicidally overconfident shipmakers. It would've been better if it was all about that. The film we have is a fine matinee with cool visuals. I don't know what else to recommend about it.
What about the characters we have? Jim starts off as a likable, funny guy. He is sympathetic when his isolation gets to him and tests that sympathy when he wakes Aurora. Aurora's fury once she realizes the deception is perfectly understandable. Michael Sheen's Arthur provides great comic relief. Gus Mancuso is a cool character taken too soon. Andy Garcia is too big a name for his wordless cameo as the Avalon's captain in the very last scene.
The visual effects team is among the ten shortlisted for Oscar consideration. They visualize a pretty cool ship designed by Guy Hendrix Dyas. The Avalon is a nice place for a cruise if you can afford it. A gravity loss which nearly drowns Aurora in a floating pool is a visual highlight. Jim and Aurora's space walks were pretty awesome too. Thomas Newman sets these visuals to another memorable score.
Passengers' love story just needed a few rewrites to be romantic. It does work as a satire of suicidally overconfident shipmakers. It would've been better if it was all about that. The film we have is a fine matinee with cool visuals. I don't know what else to recommend about it.
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