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Back in 2011, there was a film that was advertised as a sci/fi thriller about mystery men who seemed to be able to control literally everything. They were determined to stop Matt Damon from interacting with Emily Blunt. I went and saw that film and was disappointed to find out that it was simply a love story, disguised as a thriller. The same can be said for Passengers, which follows a similar advertising scheme. This film has no mystery behind it, no agenda and relies too heavily on looking pretty.
Two people wake up from their hibernation pods 90 years too early. Their on a ship to a new planet to start a new society. Can they find their way back to sleep, or will they be doomed to live the rest of their life alone on this massive ship designed for thousands. To make matters worse, parts of the ship are malfunctioning and could potentially lead to deadly consequences.
That's my best summary because if I were to tell you what really happens, it would somewhat spoil the movie. Heck, I can't even talk about the themes and questions the film asks because it would be spoiling the movie.
The two leads, Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt are two of the biggest leading actors today. They have some good chemistry together and while it is fun to watch them do anything and everything they can to kill time together, it's not enough to engage the viewer into the story. The story lacks a strong narrative and feels a little too convenient at times, which is distracting. The convenient aspect happens when another character shows up at just the right time, supplies them with just the right information and the means to fix their problem...then disappears. Lazy writing.
Tyldum, who's other big film was the Oscar nominated The Intimidation Game, offers up some gorgeous visuals of space and of the ship. The film looks sleek and it feels appropriate for such a story. We get an early sequence of a character out in space, just letting the vastness of it all take over them. It's beautiful. Another notable sequence is when both Lawrence and Pratt enjoy the view of passing around a star. Tyldum imbues the film with great images, so much that I think he forgot about the story and characters. For a film about two people stranded on a ship, the characters feel somewhat hollow and only feel alive due to the performances from the actors.
I have issues with the choices of characters here, which I suppose is what Tyldum wants you to debate about. These actions make it difficult to sympathize with characters, despite their terrible situation. Passengers wants to be a grand sci/fi epic, but feels too small a story for the visuals depicting otherwise. Also, can we stop with the boring posters of actors faces? Come on.
Passengers
(Morten Tyldum)
(Morten Tyldum)
Back in 2011, there was a film that was advertised as a sci/fi thriller about mystery men who seemed to be able to control literally everything. They were determined to stop Matt Damon from interacting with Emily Blunt. I went and saw that film and was disappointed to find out that it was simply a love story, disguised as a thriller. The same can be said for Passengers, which follows a similar advertising scheme. This film has no mystery behind it, no agenda and relies too heavily on looking pretty.
Two people wake up from their hibernation pods 90 years too early. Their on a ship to a new planet to start a new society. Can they find their way back to sleep, or will they be doomed to live the rest of their life alone on this massive ship designed for thousands. To make matters worse, parts of the ship are malfunctioning and could potentially lead to deadly consequences.
That's my best summary because if I were to tell you what really happens, it would somewhat spoil the movie. Heck, I can't even talk about the themes and questions the film asks because it would be spoiling the movie.
The two leads, Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt are two of the biggest leading actors today. They have some good chemistry together and while it is fun to watch them do anything and everything they can to kill time together, it's not enough to engage the viewer into the story. The story lacks a strong narrative and feels a little too convenient at times, which is distracting. The convenient aspect happens when another character shows up at just the right time, supplies them with just the right information and the means to fix their problem...then disappears. Lazy writing.
Tyldum, who's other big film was the Oscar nominated The Intimidation Game, offers up some gorgeous visuals of space and of the ship. The film looks sleek and it feels appropriate for such a story. We get an early sequence of a character out in space, just letting the vastness of it all take over them. It's beautiful. Another notable sequence is when both Lawrence and Pratt enjoy the view of passing around a star. Tyldum imbues the film with great images, so much that I think he forgot about the story and characters. For a film about two people stranded on a ship, the characters feel somewhat hollow and only feel alive due to the performances from the actors.
I have issues with the choices of characters here, which I suppose is what Tyldum wants you to debate about. These actions make it difficult to sympathize with characters, despite their terrible situation. Passengers wants to be a grand sci/fi epic, but feels too small a story for the visuals depicting otherwise. Also, can we stop with the boring posters of actors faces? Come on.