Passengers

Space!

We have only seen a little bit of planets, meteors, stars, and we have so much more to discover. No matter how many galexies there are out there, or how many planets we don´t know anything about, humans will alway try and learn more about space. And i think this is very fascinating, that we have so much to learn from the endless space. When i was a young boy, i used to read about planets, where they were located and what the differences were between the planets ( that we knew of back in the 80´s ). I was also very fascinated in science fiction films, and i remember a favourite one from the 80´s called Cocoon. The 1985 film, directed by Ron Howard, had an interesting concept. What if aliens was left on the bottom of the sea, for almost 10.000 years in cocoons, and now these aliens, dressed as humans, go back to take their loved ones back home to planet Antarea. This is a very well made film, and have some really good performances, especially from Don Ameche and Jessica Tandy. I will also say that Brian Dennehy and Steve Guttenberg also did really good performances. Cocoon may be a science fiction film, but it also shows a different side of elderly people, how important it is to let old folks live life. That it is never too late to live life, as long as you have an open mind. The sequel Cocoon - The Return, did not turn out to be as good as the first film, but nice to see most of the cast return. Science fiction films have proven to be a genre, where anything is possible. Where the future does not stop to, it just keep on growing, especially in technology. And you can see that NASA have proved many times, the way we travel to space is developing very well. I would not be surprised if companies will develope a travel agency to Mars one day. We already know they have talked about the possibility before, so of course it will happen. One of the best science fiction films in recent years, must be Gravity, by director Alfonso Cuarón. A beautiful film, with some really intensive space scenes, with a brilliant performance by Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. The film was a box office success, and i have to say that this is one of the best looking sci fi films i have ever seen, from a cinematography perspective. As i usually check out what comes out in cinemas every year, i came across an article on The Telegraph, about Passengers, a new science fiction film with Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. I noticed that the director is Morten Tyldum, who directed the very strong drama The Imitation Game with Benedict Cumberbatch. With a combination of great actors and a Oscar Academy nominated director, is this the best sci fi films in recent years, or is this all a big mess ?

The starship Avalon, is transporting over 5000 colonists to the planet Homestead II, that will take 120 years. The colonists are sleeping in hibernation pods. But when the ship passes through a large asteroid field, the ship´s shield is heavily strained. This causes a malfunction on board the ship, and one of the hibernation pods wakes up a passenger called Jim Preston ( Chris Pratt ). He used to be an engineer on earth, and as he wakes up, he have no idea why he is the only one awake on board the ship. He finds out that he have 90 years left, until they reach Homestead II. There is only one he can talk to on board the ship, the bartender android Arthur ( Michael Sheen ). But with no humans to communicate with, Jim is fed up with the life, the way it is right now, stranded on a spaceship. Until he come across one of the hibernation pods, and see the name Aurora Lane ( Jennifer Lawrence ). According to her video profile, she is a writer. Jim can´t stop thinking about her, and he finally make the decision to wake up her, using a manual for the hibernation pods. He manage to do so, and Aurora is of coursed shocked, waking up too early. She does not know Jim woke her up earlier, but can he keep the truth from coming out ?

I did not really know what to expect, not knowing that much about Passengers. But i have to say, after seeing the film in 3D ( there are some really beautiful scenes in space ), i am quite surprised that this film have some important issues to tell us. Not going to spoil it for you, but let´s just say this. If you felt that science fiction films have been mostly about aliens, guns, explosions, and killing, then you might actually be pleased. Passengers tries to dig more deep, in how we would try and survive on a spaceship. Just imagine not knowing if you would ever meet another human again, or if you would ever walk on solid ground ? How would you deal with a situation, floating around in space, not knowing ? Passengers brings up different subjects, on how we could possibly function, in odd situations. And this is where the film becomes interesting, because we all have different needs as human beings. Some of us need a social life, some of us prefer to be more alone. Do we give up, or do we just try and deal with the situation ? Chris Pratt make his character feel very natural, like a typical ordinary man, stuck in a very complicated situation. I think he made a good decision with this, of course he might not make good decisions, but would anyone of us do so if we were in the same shoes ? The biggest strength of Passengers is Jennifer Lawrence, and she really proves again why she is one of the best actors of her generation. This may not be her best performance, but still solid enough to make this film better, thanks to her. The beautiful scenes from different angles of the spaceship, contribute a feeling of stillness in time. Michael Sheen is a nice touch to this film, as the android bartender Arthur. He may not have a lot of dialogue, but i enjoy his character. The downside of Passengers is that the film can be very slow in some scenes. But overall, i think director Morten Tyldum have made an interesting science fiction film, different from many usual releases. There is a depth here, and a different story, and this is a good combination. I would not say that Passengers is recommended to all science fiction lovers. You won´t find much action here, it is more about how we react in complicated situations in life. Passengers do deliver, maybe not as much as it could have done. Still, a interesting idea that will leave you thinking, how would you handle this situation ? I am definitely going to space, anyone want to join? I just need Lulu Carter to help me design the spaceship first, to get things right of course.

Rating: DDD