Passengers

A hi-tech technological treat in the thrall of routine, passionless melodrama, in which the filmmakers figured that if they couldn't pull off the philosophy or the careful mating call, a bit of spectacular fire at the end would save them. The opening twenty minutes are from another world and the finale from a well-known universe where hysterical laughter can be heard. (02/10/2017)

Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt are showing prime acting talent in this movie. On the other hand, there are also Laurence Fishbourne and Michael Sheen who could strike your fancy. It’s basically a pretty intimate sci-fi that’s enticing exactly because of this intimacy. Personally, I was very pleased. Technically precise, brilliant as far as the actors go. The question is: what about the director’s take on this? I hear that that the ending wasn’t for everyone, but I liked it. As for me, I was satisfied and happy for each and every new sci-fi that catches the general public’s interest. Especially when it’s as high-quality as this one. (26/09/2017)

A textbook sci-fi romance. A-grade actors, decent effects and if at the end the screenplay hadn’t begun freewheeling so unoriginally, the movie could have been excellent. In retrospect I’m disappointed that I had already learned of a fundamental twist (from the time when Keanu Reaves was meant to play Jim) which the trailers sensibly kept secret. P.S: Andy Garcia appears for precisely three seconds. (08/01/2017)

Passengers is a nicely done “exciting sci-fi romance” for which the most important thing is that the color of the costumes matches the eyes of the central duo. The set designs and visuals were inspired by everything from 2001 (the ship’s interiors) to Gravity (flying outside of the ship), while adding a nice idea with a zero-gravity pool. It’s a pleasant movie for the target audience of The Hunger Games. However, only about 30% of the hugely promising premise was actually used. I’d like to see this made by Inárritu or a young Ridley… (10/01/2017)

In a way, Passengers could be conceived as a futuristic version of the Titanic, with an Overlook bartender on board, plus the modern equivalent of Sleeping Beauty starring a technician from below deck, a first-class intellectual and a giant ship with 5,000 passengers in fatal peril. The film impresses above all with its appealing visuals and the grounded performances of Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. In addition to the visionary notion of planetary habitation, the film invites us to reflect on the question of human behaviour (a drowning man grasping at straws) and the helplessness of omnipotent technology in a state of emergency (where machines fail, good old human hands come to the rescue). I believe that even more could have been extracted from the subject matter, but I was still satisfied with the final product. (19/03/2020)