Review by Sarai Lewis
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 apples
A spaceship that’s transporting thousands of people to a colonized planet has a malfunction in its “hibernation” sleep chambers. As a result, two Passengers on the ship woke up 90 years early.
As far as the story itself, I didn't really know what the full concept of the movie was going into it and I didn’t have a base expectation for it either. Once I started watching, I thought it was a very typical ‘stranded in space’ movie and it didn't have much in its plot that made me go “wow”.
There were a few major parts of the story and characters within it that stood out to me.
For example, some of the measures Chris Pratt’s character took to try to solve problems with the spaceship reminded me a lot of his role as Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy.
That aspect was both interesting and frustrating to see such a specific piece of his role be so similar to one he’s already played (and is very well known for). I couldn't help but associate his actions to Star-Lord and it was a bit obstructive to enjoying the story.
There weren't many people in this movie at all, with only 2 main characters (played by Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence). Although the character count was in fact low, both of the main roles were pretty good and I thought their performance was fitting to the story.
I’m not a huge fan of Jennifer Lawrence but she was fitting for the role and did a good job with being expressive throughout even the action scenes.
Both of the main actors performances were pretty good, however nothing stood out that I felt was Oscar-worthy or anything more than average. Overall, I thought that Jennifer Lawrence had a more memorable performance as she was more believable and fitting to the situations.
The chemistry between characters was good and it was really convincing. I thought that between the two characters it seemed natural and it was a relationship that I could digest as being realistic to their situation.
One thing I recognized was that the wardrobe wasn't that futuristic with respect to the movie’s time frame. It seems minimalistic but not high tech or “new”, and it was somewhat disappointing. It was pretty basic and wasn't really eye-catching at all, and left me a bit empty on what exactly they were trying to convey.
Although the wardrobe element was somewhat empty, the way the story was told in general was good and pretty simple. It wasn’t extravagant in the way that it told the tale, but it did the job to get their point across. Some pieces felt somewhat drawn out, but it seemed necessary for the story to develop and for everything to make sense. Every question I had about the plot was answered and I felt fulfilled leaving the theater.
There weren't any moments that I was left confused or lost, and it was all pieced together well to enjoy the story with ease.
From the visuals to the story itself, everything fit well and made sense. I will however say that one thing I didn’t like was the transitions from scene to scene. They were a bit choppy and didn't work well, especially in the beginning of the movie. It seemed as if there was a sense of tension trying to be conveyed in the transitions but it just didn't look very good and was weird to watch.
On a side note, one thing I did really like was the soundtrack. It was unique and I thought it was really fitting to the visuals/story/premise. It was something that was memorable and it made sense. (Thomas Newman did the soundtrack, the composer responsible for Finding Nemo, The Iron Lady, Skyfall and Spectre)
In short, this movie was one that I enjoyed and I would recommend to those who want to enjoy a sci-fi adventure type movie. I still need to process the ending of the movie, but it was fulfilling but also one to be curious about.