Passengers

I am very pleased and actually surprised how much I liked Passengers. From start to finish, a very engaging and mysterious intimate sci-fi flick that is pulled up by the excellent Chris Pratt and the sexy Jennifer Lawrence. Morten Tyldum puts on an enjoyable romantic romp where the chemistry between the leads sparkles, the visuals are a delight, and the final play with gravity is literally breathtaking. A very enjoyable and entertaining affair. 80%. (25/12/2016)

Sci-fi has a tough time, all too often serving only as an exotic background for other genres. Frequently, you end up watching horror, crime, or action films in a futuristic disguise. Passengers presents a purebred romance set in a giant spaceship to bring it to life. If you approach the film as a drama, an adventure story, or, God forbid, start contemplating the logic of the displayed microcosm of a spaceship with elegant promenades, pools, and luxury attractions, you will not be able to avoid disappointment and condemnation. Passengers is an ideal complement for an evening with your loved one, holding a glass of wine in one hand and embracing your partner with the other. It is a pleasant film that is easy to forgive for its certain naivety and script shortcuts steering the story in the desired direction. I have never given a film in which Jennifer Lawrence was involved more than two stars, and as I look at her filmography, I find significantly more candidates for rubbish than promising pieces among those I have yet to see. I will thus accommodate the poor girl and give it four stars and an overall impression of 75%. As a bonus, the interesting design of the spaceship and its interiors also earn the film points. In terms of what sci-fi is commonly abused for, this is a very positive example... (24/04/2018)

The only film of its kind, a creatively grasped and logically developed romance in the cinephile milieu of the lovers of 2001: A Space Odyssey or Alien. The audience's enthusiasm for the comfort and limitless possibilities of a closed futuristic world is impressively confronted with an emerging moral dilemma, while the precisely rhythmic narrative seamlessly connects the lines of the overarching sci-fi conflict with the internal conflicts and relationships of the awakened characters. Laurence Fishburne's character may be a very violently executed scripted interlude whose sole purpose is to nudge the central pair towards resolving technical glitches, and the ending is too Hollywood, but the overall enthusiasm still far outweighs that, and not just because of the likeable Pratt and the beautiful Jennifer, who would be a turn-on for any guy with even a minimal sex drive, but also thanks to the delightful cinematic references, led by bartender Michael Sheen a.k.a. Lloyd from Kubrick's The Shining, who instantly ranks as one of the most endearing figures in the history of bartending and sci-fi. Anyone who talks about insanely wasted potential must have the most vivid imagination since Tolkien, 85% (28/02/2017)

I was expecting a clever point during the ending, an unexpected revelation (for example that someone also woke Chris Pratt up)... Well, unfortunately, this is not a film for lovers of such things, because the finale is full of action, highly digital and very interesting. But I liked everything before that, and I kept asking, “What is he going to do now? What will she do when she finds out that he...?" and so on. I was extremely entertained by the robotic Michael Sheen and the romantic storyline of the main (only) protagonists, and I enjoyed the mystery which... which then screwed up the aforementioned ending. It’s too bad, but a lost two hours it was not. (28/12/2018)

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. (27/09/2017)