Amazing movie, definitely didn't want it to end! They should make a part 2
Well.. It was ok I guess?
Why didn't they alternate hibernation to age only 44 years? And spend the rest of their lives together on a new planet...
Anyone who thinks this is a good love story is fucking deranged. A guy kidnaps a girl, and forces her to live out the rest of her life alone in space. She finds out what he did a year later. She's mad for a while. They make up. They live happily ever after.
Not to mention she's screaming and crying over the dying body of her murderer like a pathetic idiot. Fucking let him die. HE'S A PSYCHO
The movie was form to plot, forcing the viewer to accept a terrible injustice as for the sake of the ends justifying the means. The suspense was Disney-esk, adding to the offence of needing to accept the "hero's" transgression. It was dark, and uncomfortable with a unsatisfactory ending, and understated rise to action. I would not recommend to anyone who has suffered an injustice at the hands of a person they had to accept.
The effects, and acting were not terrible. Just the movie could have done without using a crime to introduce shock value, or at least followed up better on punishment for said transgression.
how did they find plants seed and birds egg??!!
a wake man always need a woman, but why not to try to set the first wake is a women? a wake woman's really needed a man or another woman?
Well...
Instead of reading reviews, the best thing to do is just go and watch it
I didn't find it REALLY good, but I enjoyed it nonetheless !
the main problem (sorry) are the actors... especially Jennifer Lawrence ! Don't go watch it if you want a serious SF movie !
I didn't count the number of times there were "sexy" shots on her body, but at the end I was like "come on ! Not again !"
Also for physics friends, the director made quite a good job ! Of course, there are some flaws but there is a lot of actual physical content, so the ship, the technology and everything is not pure imagination (or wandering).
also I'm still wondering some things, like why is there only a single medical pod or bartender for 5200+ people ? Why there is still a need for propulsion when you keep at 50% of light speed ? What a glass preventing humans from being roasted by a fusion reactor is made of ? How strong Chris Pratt really is to make an amount of force equivalent to the force with which he got ejected by the energy of that reactor, simply by throwing a door ?
Finally, the music is fair and the design is good, the only big problem here is too much romance but hey, that's what people want now ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Great movie. Overall one of the top 3 movies of 2016. What I find surprising was the fact that they both decided to live until they died rather than share the pod and hibernate until reaching Homestead
It's a fine movie, two very strong actors, it wouldn't have worked at all with any others, at least in my opinion. It's enjoyable, touching and a few life lessons thrown in there to boot. There's only one problem, it's forgettable, you won't remember this two years from now, you'll be lucky if you remember it a year from now. That sounds a bit harsh but it's already fading as I type this and that's never good.
This is not a negative review, I liked it but it's not a classic.
Against all the critics I read, I just loved the movie. Visually stunning and brlliant performances by Pratt and Lawrence. Definitly worths watch this one on cinema.
The movie is fine as it is, even if there are few suprises along the way. The most frustrating thing though is that it could have been truly great with a few not that big changes.
If they started from her perspective, and put his first year after she finds out, it would have had a real impact. If they were truly courageous, they would have ditched the Hollywood ending, let him die, and then put her before the same choice after a year alone. But they would have been willing to make him the villain.
The weird thing is, his behavior around her already kind of fits the darker, creepy vibe, to the point that it feels like it might have been the original plan.
I'll make it simple. I found this movie very enjoyable, to my surprise.
The science fiction aspect was believable in the sense that it did not make me cringe, i.e., it is a believable fictional world except for some small things like:
Why is there only one medical pod? Why is there no emergency protocol for pod failure at all? Why is there only one android on the entire ship?
I understand how some people can get extremely heated about the morality of what he did, and that this might ruin the movie for those people, but stuff like that does not bother me. Personally, I don't give movies a bad rating due to unlikable or immoral main characters.
Also, I don't think that his choice is unequivocally, 'objectively,' immoral. I'm pretty sure that different moral systems would assign a different moral value to what he did. Even if it is immoral (which I think it is), it is still a choice that makes sense from his perspective. Nobody knows for sure what they would have done in his position, even if we all think that we would have done the right thing. I would probably not forgive him as Aurora, at least not for a very very very long time, though.
The movie was simple but enjoyable.
The only negative about this film was that the ending after the resolution was a bit rushed through as it still wasn’t clear the resolution. But, it was a very intriguing and great film all the way through. Very mystical and thrilling as it follows a passenger ship traveling to a new Earth that experiences issues that results in a passenger being woken up out of deep sleep too soon and he has to figure out how to navigate those issues alone, until he makes a dramatic decision that turns the film into an epic love story that dives deep into the meaning of making the most of the present.
I just can’t help falling in love with her…
Just watched this. Really really good. Great leads, great visuals, great concept and execution. I get the feeling that many different endings and scenes were filmed for the last 30 minutes or so, as I felt the film could have veered off in so many darker ways. Nonetheless, it was thoroughly satisfying the route they took with the story.
Passengers is more than a sci-fi adventure; it's a testament to the power of human connection in the face of the unknown. The film's feel is a delicate balance of excitement, introspection, and a touch of romance. It leaves you with a sense of awe, not just for the vastness of space, but for the emotional journey that unfolds between two exceptional actors. Worth watching, this strange love story set in space.
10/10
Beautiful!! Lost for words.. wow
The story is great, the acting is outstanding, the graphics are beautiful. Don’t have anything bad to say about this movie.
Yes I am a big fan of Jennifer so that makes this already amazing, but besides that I loved every part of this. It even kept me on the edge of my seat until the end.
This movie gave me an existential crisis. I've been in a sensitive state of mind recently. But imagine deeply loving someone and that person telling you that they're going to a different planet 90 years away from Earth and that they'll have to go into hibernation and that when they wake up, you'll be long dead. You will never see that person again. It's like they're dead to you. Awful. And imagine being someone on the ship who wakes up too early and has to spend the rest of their life on that ship, alone. Never experiencing nature or another person ever again. Horrifying.
I could feel both main characters' pain so much.
It was a but cheesy at times though but overall it's a thought-provoking and very enjoyable movie.
This was an OK movie, a nice story. Bous points for Jennifer Lawrence.
Passengers tells the story of Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) who, along with 4,999 other passengers, is aboard the Avalon spaceship headed towards the planet of Homestead II for colonization. However, a malfunction causes Jim's pod to malfunction and he wakes up alone, 90 years into the journey. The film follows his struggles with loneliness and the moral implications of his decision to wake up fellow passenger Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence) to keep him company.
The film is visually stunning and the performances of Pratt and Lawrence are solid, but the story and script falter. The romance between Jim and Aurora feels forced and the lack of tension in set pieces makes the film lack excitement. The movie also jumps between ideas in a disjointed way, which doesn't do it any favors given its runtime of 116 minutes.
The ending is also unsatisfying and lacks a sense of depth or meaning. Passengers is a visually pleasing film, but it fails to deliver an entertaining experience for its runtime. The story is unengaging, the script is weak and the moral implications of the characters actions are not explored in a meaningful way. Despite its shiny exterior, Passengers is a film that fails to make an impact.
Pasajeros cuenta la historia de Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) quien, junto con otros 4999 pasajeros, está a bordo de la nave espacial Avalon que se dirige al planeta Homestead II para colonizarlo. Sin embargo, un mal funcionamiento hace que la cápsula de Jim no funcione correctamente y se despierta solo, después de 90 años de viaje. La película sigue sus luchas con la soledad y las implicaciones morales de su decisión de despertar a su compañera de viaje Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence) para hacerle compañía.
La película es visualmente impresionante y las actuaciones de Pratt y Lawrence son sólidas, pero la historia y el guión fallan. El romance entre Jim y Aurora se siente forzado y la falta de tensión en los escenarios hace que la película carezca de emoción. La película también salta entre ideas de forma inconexa, lo que no le hace ningún favor dada su duración de 116 minutos.
El final también es insatisfactorio y carece de sentido de profundidad o significado. Passengers es una película visualmente agradable, pero no ofrece una experiencia entretenida para su tiempo de ejecución. La historia es poco atractiva, el guión es débil y las implicaciones morales de las acciones de los personajes no se exploran de manera significativa. A pesar de su exterior brillante, Passengers es una película que no logra impactar.
Nice Movie only because of Jennifer :heart_eyes:
Sure the entire storyline is predictable, but it's done so well.
I like reading and watching fucked up love stories, things that are at least morally dubious in real life, but this one's is just... bad. I was waiting for a worthwhile plot twist, maybe she would sacrifice his life for hers in vengeance or something, but no. Worst of all is that there's absolutely nothing traditional romantic, or wicked romantic about this piece of film.
The ending was just... terrible. Maybe in the future plants don't need dirty to live anymore, nor sunlight, or nutrients? Anyways, mediocre movie with mediocre acting.
NOTE: This isn't a typical review. Most of it is commentary on screenwriting in general, as well as the career of this screenwriter. Skip to the last paragraph for my discussion regarding the actual film.
Most people may not realize it, but the majority of Hollywood scripts are either pre-sold or written on assignment. That is to say, the script doesn't come first. Established writers may approach studios with a pitch or outline, and if the studio gets on board they will pay for the script to be written. Alternatively, in cases where a studio already has something in mind, often based on IP they own, they will circulate an open writing assignment (aka an OWA). Writers are then brought in to pitch for a chance at securing the OWA, at which point they will be paid to write the script. Theoretically, both of these approaches allow writers to avoid unpaid work, as they only write scripts that already have funding behind them.
On the other side of the spectrum, there are "spec scripts", so labeled because they are written speculatively, with only the faintest glimmer of hope that they will ever be sold or produced. Every year, there are thousands of spec scripts written and maybe a couple dozen that make it to the big screen. So, with production often an unrealistic expectation, spec scripts more commonly serve as writing samples to get aspiring writers in the door, potentially helping them to secure manager or agent representation, which may in turn lead to OWA or other opportunities down the line.
Every year, a company called The Black List surveys hundreds of film executives to identify the most well liked unproduced scripts of the year. However, even the spec scripts on these annual lists, which theoretically are among the best spec scripts available, are unlikely to ever be made, with less than a third making it to production. Despite this, securing a spot on the list can provide up and coming writers a foothold into the industry. This approach was certainly effective for Jon Spaihts, the screenwriter of Passengers.
Back in 2007, Spaihts had two scripts make the annual Black List. While that sounds like quite a hot start to his career, his IMDB page may suggest that things didn't take off as quickly, with his first writing credit not coming until 2011. However, I believe this is likely misleading, as evidenced by Spaihts' second writing credit in 2012, Prometheus. That's a big budget film, tied to a huge IP, helmed by an A-list director. You don't get hired on that kind of project without making a name for yourself. So even if his credits were slim, Spaights was clearly making an impact from 2007 through 2011.
So what does overwritten preamble have to do with Passengers? Well, that's the interesting bit. One of Spaihts' Black List scripts from back in 2007 was this film! Passengers was written on spec almost a decade before the film's ultimate release in 2016. While I can't speak to the full journey from original script to big budget production starring A-list talent, having a project stay alive through such a long development period speaks volumes about Spaihts' career during those early days. And seeing where Spaihts' has gone since then (Doctor Strange, The Mummy, and Dune), it's clear that he has secured himself quite a spot in the industry.
I know this isn't your typical review, but as an aspiring screenwriter myself, I was fascinated when I looked into Spaihts' career and thought maybe others might be too. All of that said, I know I haven't said a single thing about the actual film. So what did I think?
I really enjoyed the premise. I really enjoyed the performances. I really did not enjoy the ending. What started as a small scale, interpersonal drama, devolved into an over-the-top, generic space disaster finale that completely destroyed all suspension of disbelief. I think there is a version of this story that takes a romantic thriller approach to the back half, which I would have enjoyed more.
Sure the entire storyline is predictable, but it's done so well.
Very bad ending. Horrible ending in fact. What the hell. Amazing movie with an ending like that? Ruined the entire movie.
This was watchable but fine I expected a big Science-fiction film what I got was something more romantic set in space
I watched this movie a couple of times. Once in high definition, the last time was in 4K. This movie tells an interesting story in a visually stunning manner (the movie looks great in 4K). I’m not sure why a lot of people here dislike it. I think it’s way underrated.
Stockholm Syndrome in Space. A creepy stalker dude takes a woman hostage and steals her whole future from her. But it's okay, because she falls in love with him, because he's handsome and how else do you cope with living with the only other human being you'll ever see for the rest of your life?! This is a really messed up movie, dressing an abusive relationship up as a romance. Pretty spaceship though.
For a Hollywood film, it's not bad. It suffers from all the usual Hollywood issues, which makes any mainstream film almost insufferable to watch, but the main concept was really interesting. Shame that the focus and shallow psychological implications went in totally predictable direction. Good enough to burn a couple of hours, but nothing more. Nowhere near the levels of Tarkovsky's Solaris, and I feel filthy just for uttering this comparison.
Very cliché and predictable, but still entertaining. The movie is visually pleasing and, there are great performances from the actors. Worth watching.
Brilliant movie.
I put it off for so long thinking it would be just another spectacle film with brilliant visuals and a lacking story. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it it was just all round good.
Mind you, I gave this movies 9 :heart:s, but I still would say my review is as follows--
Stockholm Syndrome: The Movie
"Passengers" has an interesting story, solid cast, and raises it's questions, but was poorly exacted on screen. A story like this it could've been anything. A horror, mystery, romance or just a movie with Pratt by himself. Well technically all four are combined together. A premise this good, it tries to be everything at once, because it doesn't want to miss a opportunity of being something else. When you find out the actual story that the trailers once again lies about, it's pretty creepy and makes Pratt's character selfish.
But with that said, I actually enjoyed the movie and didn't hate it like everyone else. Which is surprising.
I liked the first 30 minutes of film that really got the feeling of fear and anxiety spot on. Even Chris Pratt was pretty damn in the first act, when he realizes he's the only person to wake up due to a malfunction with his pod. I actually brought into Pratt performance, as it did convince me he's scared for his life. Jennifer Lawrence is good in this, but sometimes overreacts in a few scenes that wasn't needed. Pratt and Lawrence had chemistry, but despite the lackluster script that doesn't fix or get around Pratt's character actions that are unforgiving. Or the third act.
The movie is filled with flaws, but at least I found some enjoyment with it (somehow). I mean, it wasn't really bored with it, so there's that.
I usually like sci-fi movies, and this is no exception. There is usually a plot twist in these, but it was somewhat moderate in this one.
Still pretty great overall.
Rating: 8/10
It's polished and it's in space but you already know the entire plot from the poster
It has somewhat of a twist on the "guy meets the only girl around and they fall in love", but that's pretty much it. The story is not even close to believable, full of plot holes left and right, not to mention 100% predictable in the first 20 minutes of the movie. And to top it off, it's not even THAT good looking as it was promised to be.
Biggest mystery in the movie?
Why does the ship announce, "You may want to enter the viewing area." while passing the star?
Aren't they all supposed to be sleeping??? I'm perplexed! #RobotsMustLoveStars
Alternative ending, Laurence Fishbourne puts Jennifer Laurence and Chris Pratt back into hypersleep and then proceeds to fix the ship before he puts himself back to sleep. She then wakes up in the future and tells the passenger next to her about the creep that woke her up during the flight.
This is one of the most beautiful sci-fi movie I've watched. Eff the bad reviews, I wanna watch a sequel but I don't think there can be one.
It is a decent sci-fi premise but nothing really memorable.
Critics are so stupid, it's why ratings on rotten tomatoes aren't taken seriously at all. Fantastic movie as many others here have mentioned.
I'm listening to the soundtrack right now to put me in the mood, which the OST is actually pretty darn good.
I think this movie frustrated me more than anything. There was so much fucking potential with the concept, and some of this movie does work, but most of the time, it comes off as generic Hollywood bullshit. When this movie does work, it works really well.
There's this one scene early on where, let me explain:
Chris Pratt's character has been awake by himself for almost a year now, and he's had enough of living alone, knowing he's just going to wait around to die. There's actually a very effective emotional scene where he gets into the airlock without a spacesuit on, and is about to open the airlock to kill himself. The music and the emotion on Pratt's face actually got to me, I don't know why.
The whole idea of being alone on a ship, doomed to live the rest of your life on it alone, is a fantastic idea. It's a great concept that could have so much to explore, the meaning of life, the importance of a partner, the possibilities of heartbreaking stories and lessons that could tapped into with this movie... and it doesn't amount to much. They take this great concept that could really talk about the meaning of life and could've been one of the best movies of 2016, ends up being butchered by studio executives, given a 150 million dollar budget to add action scenes, and a standard Hollywood romance story that's dumbed down for American audiences.
It really makes me sad, because there very brilliant glimpses of intrigue and worth-while storytelling, but that's all they were, glimpses. I wish this was more of an independent production, so a small group could actually flesh out some meaningful ideas with this idea.
They even have an 88 years later recap and a pop song for the end credits... fucking fantastic. When it does work, it works. The music is great and there are some well-done scenes, but it makes me more unhappy than happy. I want to love this movie, but I can't.
ignore the score, just go and watch.
When does Jennifer Lawrence start doing things while wearing daisy dukes!?
Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence star in the extraordinary science fiction drama Passengers. When James Preston is awoken prematurely from hibernation on his way to a new colony he's faced with a lifetime of isolation on the ship's 120 year journey and must find a way to survive. Both Pratt and Lawrence give excellent performances and have good onscreen chemistry. And the writing is especially smart, tackling some heavy issues and presenting a fascinating vision of space travel. Also, the special effects are incredibly well-done, really capturing the majesty and vastness of space. Additionally, the score by Thomas Newman is extremely evocative; intensifying the action and the drama. While the material may be a little familiar, Passengers is exceptionally well-crafted and remarkably compelling.
I loved this movie! It was beautiful visually to watch! A love story with deception in space..... great plot!
The story is simple, but it was well executed and it's joyful watching this movie. The visual effects are pretty nice and memorable.
I went in with low expectations based on the critic reviews, but was pleasantly surprised! I rather liked it. Visually stunning, and an interesting concept. Well acted with great chemistry between leads. There is a big flaw in that [spoiler] the movie asks the audience to forgive one of the leads for the unforgivable. If you can’t get past it, then I can see why some may not like it.
The premisse is very interesting and the spaceship setting is just beautiful. Jim turns into a dislikeable character pretty fast though, and it is hard to like Aurora when we feel sorry for her all the time. The dramatic climax feels like a mixture of Armaggedon and Titanic, as weird as it may sound, but it is rather exciting. The ending is of the feel-good variety, and I have no complaints.
Overall, a solid 6, which is only disappointing because the rather common story feels like a great injustice to the lavish visuals.
I by really enjoyed watching this... it's better than I expected
Stunning movie, a must watch for anyone loving Sci-Fi movies, watched it a second time just for the visuals alone.
One of the most boring film I've ever seen.
Imma freaking give e it a TEN (10)!! This film reminds me sooooooo much of Interstellar (you gotta watch it by the way). The story is different but it all happens in space !
There's one scene in this film that brought tears to my eyes. From this moment on, l knew l would watch this film several times again
Four thumbs up for this film (only because it takes place in space lol)!!
I was listening to my instict and bad critis and i haven't seen this movie until today..Well i was wayy wrong!
This was a well directed and great perfomed movie with nice plot.It was different and i really prefer this than gravity it was way better..It's a little bit slow in the beggining but this how it should be in my opinion and in the last 40 minutes action is everywhere so don't rush to judge..Sorry for my bad english but please don't listen to the nosayers and negative people and just take a look so you can have at least your opinion.. 7.6/10 really suprised from this one!
P.S Lawrence is a special actress and she deserves everything she has!
Reasons To Watch -
Story / Acting / Romance / Drama
Reasons to not watch -
Ending could be more satisfying
My Review -
You wont regret 116min of your life.
Worth watch.
There are many films about going into space, being lost in space, or having a massive problem of some sort while out in space. This film has an interesting storyline with a twist while being a familiar storyline. Overall, some parts of this film I enjoyed very much while other parts weren’t as enjoyable or could have been changed to be more enjoyable.
This film has great emotion between the characters, the characters themselves, and the situations they find themselves in. The conflicts that Jim Preston faces in the beginning of why is he awake when no one else is, what’s with the glitches on the ship, and wanting to wake up Aurora for companionship. The way he went through everything in the beginning was understandable. His internal debate about waking Aurora was understandable. I did not agree with him waking her and then not being honest about it when he knows what his intentions toward her are. However, I won’t act as if I would make a better decision than he did, I am not a better person but I possibly would have been more honest than he was. He saw and had, at least, a mild obsession with her as he looked up videos on her, her written work, and any information that he could find on her. So, he added fuel to the fire in the actions he took which lead to him opening her pod. However, with all the characters, you felt for them at every turn in every situation and emotion.
The story is familiar to most people that frequently watch science fiction films. The ‘problems in space’ story. What I liked about this one is that it was familiar but new in itself. They do all the typical stuff. A problem. A romance. Amazing space effects that will make your imagination go crazy with wanting that to be real. The one part I loved and wanted to know more about was how did they survive after. I wanted more about them living a blue lagoon style life in this ship and everything they did to the ship and if they possibly had a family and if they woke others. More than anything I wanted more of that.
I think that all of the cast were a great fit for the roles. I do wish that they had were no name actors then ones that already had an association to something. However, I cannot say that they were bad choices and I know that big names sell movies.
The movie as a fairly good with great special effects, great acting, and a somewhat original twist to a familiar story. However, the story could have been better and at times less forgiving. I would recommend to others to watch but to step in with an open mind and to remember that it’s a fictional story.
what a waste of my time, this movie should be called bullshit plot holes
I don't know why it had so many bad reviews when it was out. Sure nothing revolutionary here, but it still very much ok. The Chris Pratt alone part got all the classic funny bits expected from the situation. The whole esthetics of it is pretty good and the design of life on the ship is entertaining. Well, the emergency managing part of the ship could use a little update. Like everything is failing and it doesn't wake up the crew ? There's no emergency system in case there is no crew ?
It was totally a dick move to wake her up, but in the end the whole ship would have died if he hadn't. And honestly you could hardly expect him to not do it anyway if he had waited more. After a few years he would have done it for sure or gone totally crazy (and then done it).Despite that it's still cute and you care for the characters, they're pretty nice in the end. The robot bartender is very cool also. The actors are good, and who wouldn't want to be stranded with Jennifer Lawrence ?
As for the story, well, a lot of plot armor is involved, but that's to be expected. Still very enjoyable.
Amazing movie, visually stunning and moving. Jennifer Lawrence was great as usual. Hell of a life !
It's the kind of movie you know what's gonna happen. I knew from minute 18 what the guy was up to.
I skipped an hour and missed literally NOTHING except absolutely predictable interaction between the guy and the girl.
The "human" part of he story was as predictable as the story of the movies my grandma used to watch.
The "sciency" part wasn't better. No emergency crew wakeup protocol? No active backup computers? Why are the backups stored in a closet when nobody should be awake to use them?
Plot holes, plot holes, plot holes...
this is a good movie and worth the watch, but if i'm being totally honest my main takeaway is that chris and jennifer have insane chemistry. like, the movie is over and done with and i'm still just marveling over that eye contact in the dining area.
Movie with deep atmosphere of loneliness which leads to some serious choices. Amazing score!
Decidedly average masquerading as quality due to cast and budget.
"Why can't she see that I'm just a Nice Guy?": The Movie
[7.6/10] The nice things about anthology shows like The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits is that they tend to have the space and freedom to explore the contemplative side of the speculative fiction at their core. Sure, they still have to tell stories, and ideally, they should have a beginning, a middle, or an end, but they have the room to be quiet and weird without eventually having to give way to explosions and mortal threats. When science fiction in particular makes the jump to the big screen, it has the advantages of the budgets and the talent that make the imaginative worlds of these stories come to life, but it’s often at the cost of the heady or intimate sides of these films that have to meet their blockbuster quotas.
Passengers fits this notion to a tee. The first two-thirds are an incredible what-if story, one that explores abject loneliness, love as salvation, and utter betrayal in the unflinching, thought-provoking fashion that only science fiction can muster. The film starts with the boringly named Jim Preston being awoken from hibernation on a ship making a 120-year journey, realizing that he will spend his entire life alone in empty, unsatisfying, luxury.
The opening section of the film, then, turns into an incredible entree into ennui. There are shades of everything from WALL-E to Castaway, with plenty of Kubrickian nods to 2001 and The Shining to boot. Watching Preston deluge himself in hollow pleasures, making nice with the alternatively warm and unnerving robotic bartender, and eventually devolve into a shattered husk of a man is a devastating series of vignettes all their own.
But rather than just serve as a worthwhile if isolated look at isolation, Passengers puts the audience through Preston’s decline to explain the unforgivable action he takes in the film’s next section -- waking up the painfully named Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence) out of stasis so that he doesn’t have to be alone. Preston obsesses over Lane, a writer and seeker-of-adventure, struggling with the immorality of stirring her on the one hand and his suicidal condition on the other. He gives in to his lesser self, wakes her, and hides the evidence.
What follows is a stirring series of episodes of a new life for Preston and Lane that blossoms in the unfortunate state they find themselves in. The film never goes very deep with the two characters, essentially only explaining that Preston likes to fix things and that Lane is an adventurous creative, but their romance is a compelling one. It follows the “what if” spirit of the film, and maybe it’s just the spark of two attractive people flirting with one another, but in the moments where they laugh together or share bits of joy or seem to forge an united existence that gives them strength, you almost forget the lie, the unfathomable crime, that made that love possible.
Passengers doesn’t though. It keeps the betrayal looming the background throughout each blissful interlude, and then, at the peak of their happiness, it pops the bubble. Aurora learns the truth, and her response is appropriately apoplectic. The best credit to Passengers is how it dutifully plays out what it would really be like to experience these events. It doesn’t shy away from Preston’s initial dispiriting isolation; it creates a resonant romance when he and Aurora meet and warm to one another; and it doesn’t skimp on Aurora’s horror and anger when she learns what happens. The look on her face, her unwillingness to even be in the same room as Preston, her midnight pummeling of him while he sleeps, all makes the reaction to the betrayal not just a necessary progression of the plot, but a palpable, visceral emotion.
Then, suddenly, the movie turns into Die Hard on an intergalactic cruiseliner. The emotions get bigger and, if I’m frank, dumber, and the interesting, cerebral character work and world-building of the first two-thirds or so of the film turns into stock action beats and the usual big screen sci-fi clichés. Crewmember Gus wakes up just in time to identify the Big Problem and die tragically. Preston and Lane find themselves having to save the ship, and go through the usual rigmarole of finding out what’s wrong and then saving the day, and each other, in dramatic fashion. It’s all done well enough, but unlike the first part of the film, it’s nothing the average cinemagoer hasn’t seen several times before, and the restrained but vivid emotions of the film’s early going turn into much louder sentiments.
It helps that Passengers boasts some fantastic production design and a sound script. The gyroscopic grace of The Avalon as it drifts through space marks a ship that feels unique and futuristic without feeling like a rehash. The interior of the ship has the perfect mid-range hotel-meets-Apple vibe to it, create the anodyne atmosphere in which Aurora and Preston build their new world. And the details, from food trays to roombas to giant globules of water floating when the gravity fails create a sense of place.
At the same time, even when the script gives over to the standard life-threatening drama, it still feels well-constructed. Little things start going wrong here and there long before the ship reaches a critical point. Aurora learning the truth comes from Preston’s earlier conversations with the bartender. The identification and possible solutions to their problems only emerge when they’re able to reach places and systems they reasonably wouldn’t have access to. The world and the series of events are all believable and comprehensible, and even when a bit convenient, still plausible. Live-saving spacewalks are set up in advance, and every major event in the movie has a setup somewhere earlier in the script and every character development has an echo or precursor.
It’s just unfortunate that the complexity at the heart of the movie’s early going seems to fall apart in the raging climax, eventually devolving into a trite voiceover on the power of love. Passengers still has the sense to ensure Preston earns his slice of redemption, trying to sacrifice himself, not out of loneliness, but to save other lives, and to give Aurora the opportunity to get back what she lost. But by then, the film is a full blown blockbuster, only able to give a perfunctory coda to its earlier depth.
That’s what makes me almost wish the film had been an Outer Limits episode instead. It wouldn’t have been nearly so pretty, and it could only have starred Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt in an alternate universe where they never emerged onto the A-list from their sitcom roots, but in the inability to do big explosions and high-powered actions, those sorts of shows have to rely on the strength of just telling a story. When Passengers is in storytelling mode, it is a thoughtful, contemplative, harrowing film, and when it’s a blockbuster, it’s still perfectly fine, but it becomes just another standard-issue thrillride, devoid of the intrigue, nuance, and promise that it starts out with.
A man and woman (Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence) are awakened from hibernation 30 years into a 120-year trip to another planet. They then must search for a way to avoid dying alone on the ship.
At least that’s what the trailers tell you. The reality of how monumentally weird Passengers is slowly sinks in as you realise that the first 20 minutes of the film don’t seem to feature Jennifer Lawrence at all. Chris Pratt wakes up due to a glitch and spends a year alone before deciding he wants to bang Jennifer Lawrence so he wakes her up too.
This is a film about a man who condemns a young woman to live out her life on a giant spaceship with only him for company. I suppose it’s not technically murder but it does raise some ethical issues.
She’s angry when she finds out, but ultimately they make up and, as far as I can tell, fuck each other until they die of old age. That’s actually how the film ends, they just resign to their fate and we’re supposed to accept that Chris Pratt didn’t do a murder and it’s all fine.
The production values are clearly high, yet the film is so rough around the edges. It’s usually pedantry to bring up continuity problems but when you confine a film to a tight space with no escape you are inviting the audience to come up with ways they could save themselves. Then when you change the rules half way through (like having doors that used to be shut suddenly open) it just pisses everyone off.
Couple that with a creepy-as-fuck jovial tone and two lazy lead performances (Michael Sheen is the only good thing in this, and he’s a bloody robot bartender) and you’ve got a real stinker on your hands.
Passengers is for the most part extremely bland, yet thanks to the chirpy way it handles the absolutely psychotic actions of the lead it really fits into the so bad it’s good category, so I have to recommend it. It stands as a perfect example of how tone-deaf Hollywood can be.
http://benoliver999.com/film/2017/06/25/passengers/
I feel like everything in this movie is a bit of a stretch. But then again, it's a movie about people traveling in an outstandigly fancy ship for more than a century in animated suspension, so what more could you expect?
This could be so fucking great if it had an thriller vibe where they got crazy about each other and at the end it's all a test to see if they were really apt to get a fresh start. ( I'm really sorry about my English but is that popular saying, right? Vamo fazer o que?)
A skiffy story with great visuals, some moral and philosophical questions, and some romance for good measure. And a few nits that stood out -- nits of the sort that always bother me. First, there would have been no call for the automated announcement about the slingshot maneuver around that sun since there would have been no reason for the original programmers to think that anyone would be awake to see it. If the writers and director were committed to showing those visuals to the audience, then they should have just let Aurora and Jim discover the event for themselves as it occurred. Second, pretty much everything about that tree was wrong, from the water questions to the potential issues if and when its roots broke through the deck and all kinds of things in-between. Third, probably not a good idea to put your reactor plant at the front end of your ship, where it will take the brunt of any ramming damage. Fourth, a complete lack of logic behind the turning-around question. All things being equal, if it takes X amount of time to get from A to B, then it should only take X amount of time to return from B to A. Even a slow turn that takes a week to execute is nothing in relative terms in a scenario like this one. And lastly, given how much must have been spent on building the ship as a whole, would it have killed the money people to splurge and include more than one autodoc for a crew of 258, as we're told at the outset? While I'm willing to accept the fact that there was no reason to expect problems with the 5,000 hibernation pods, any engineer worth his or her degree would insist on better redundancies and a backup plan or two in case something did go wrong as it did here. In any case, nits aside, the primary four actors here and the visuals and the underlying story itself were all strong enough to survive those nits, with plenty of room to spare.
It's not a great movie, but a really good one especially for Sci-Fi fans. Just watch and enjoy it.
This film is terrific! There's not a lot of action but action isn't everything guys! Passengers offers an awesome story line, great visuals and pretty good acting. The thing it shines the most is the script: The actions of the main characters are total believable - that's a very refreshing positive fact in the current hollywood movie scenery. It's well worth watching.
While the idea for the story might not be that new or original I think the execution was great. If you can accept the premise that a man and a woman alone naturally have to fall in love you´d be fine.
As for the lots of nagative reviews: everyone is entitled for having his own opinion but watch it and form your own. And a 74% avarage from about 25k viewers does tell something.
What a beautiful romantic movie. Loved it.
I really did not expect this movie to be this interesting. There's a lot of holes and misconceptions in the story but altogether it's quite good. First I thought "not another space travel movie" but it turned out to be quite captivating.
Acting is great as well of course and soundtrack as well as especially photography really made it great!
It seems that the writer watched Titanic so many times
To me, this movie is the perfect example of how to ruin what could have been a story with depth and emotion. It's dumbed down with happiness and unrealistic themes rather than exploring the very real human issues it could have. Sooo much potential in the story for this movie and they wasted it on a quick hit of happy feels which basically renders any themes explored null.
nice movie with everything in it love,exitement,en good story line
didn't read any critics, was just a good movie with a nice story line with everything in it, love, thrill, excitement so just a movie to watch
I really enjoyed this movie ! :)
Fun concept but not ground breaking. Not a lot of emotion from actors and with only 2 for most of the movie that was critical. Worth watching once...only.
Surprisingly good! Was surprised in the depth this simple story line held. A piece on the human condition and human psychology hidden in an epic visualization of space travel in the future.
Sci-fi nut here reporting in. This was great! Really represents events that could actually happen, and what I mean is, what happens to the human being when left alone. I'm a big fan of deep space movies and how it affects people emotionally, but I find some movies go too far and drag it on too much. Passengers does a great job of knowing when enough is enough, and balances story, sci-fi, and personal/emotional relationships perfectly. This also isn't a movie to leave you hanging and wondering what happened, to a point... You don't get to see what happened the rest of their lives, and I was half expecting to see their children onboard, but what they did to the ship showed that they lived a long life. And a long productive life, making their home, their new homestead.
A very good movie. I wanted to watch this in the cinema but skipped it due to low ratings and bad reviews. But after watching it online i realized that those ratings and reviews were only by ridiculous SJWs complaining about non-existent "offensive" content. If only i knew this from the start, i wouldn't have missed out on what would've been a great cinema experience.
I enjoyed the movie, but it just feels too scripted. Not in the interaction between Jennifer and Chris, but in the plot and development of the story.
Here are some examples:
All the problems with the ship get dumbed down to one problem instantly: open the valve and you can pretend like nothing happened.
There is only one "carepod" for 5000 people, that's practically impossible. It seems very unlikely for such a big luxurious ship.
Despite this, it was still entertaining to watch. Jennifer and Chris are good actors, and the fact that they are both gorgeous isn't too bad either. There were some great moments in the movie where I was completely immersed in the story, but not enough to make a lasting impression on me.
An OK movie for a regular evening, but not on the level of Interstellar or Gravity.
didn't actually watch but rather ironically streamed with about 11 strangers on a school night. pretty lit. they were fun. this movie made no sense and laurence's character is the only one that mattered.
Overall this movie had some potential of greatness. The first 30 minutes and Chris Pratt's struggle with loneliness was very intriguing. However, the further the movie went along, the worse it got. [rant]The part where my suspension of disbelief completed disappeared was soon after they realized a piece of meteor was causing problems on the ship. Of course the writer's couldn't help themselves, but to follow the old sci-fi trope of "It's the reactor core". How does Chris Pratt's character know so much about the ships engine and power system? He just comes off as a mechanic type, who shouldn't know the first thing about space ships. So Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt go to investigate and realize the core computer was hit (Why wan't that behind a firewall like the crew members?), causing a problem with the the reactor. They have to vent the reactor or else it could melt down and kill everyone on board. Chris Pratt goes to fix the outside door so the reactor can be vented and realizes (of course) that he has to stay there and manually hold the door open. Somehow through "Hollywood magic" he isn't melted instantly by the vent and is instead blown into space after his tether breaks. He somehow gets a hole in his space suit and I thought the writer's where actually going to let him die. Nope, instead Jennifer Lawrence somehow goes out into space and grabs him (the ship somehow calculated the complex trajectory without her telling it to). She then drags him back inside into the medical bay and (with absolutely no medical training) somehow resuscitates Chris Pratt's character back to life (really cheap there writers). Chris Pratt realizes that he can put her back into stasis using the AutoDoc (I thought he would've figured that out by now, considering they already said he investigated it). She instead chooses to live out the rest of her life on the ship with the man that woke her up (essentially murdering her). The final nail in the coffin is somehow they managed to get the tree to survive long after they do, and magically a whole assortment of animals and plants grow around it to create a forest for the passengers to wake up to. Also why didn't they just have Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt's kids telling this story to the passengers after they woke up instead of the stupid narration from Jennifer Lawrence.[/rant] Listen, save yourself 2 hours and a major anger fit, and just don't watch this movie. The ending will just piss you off for having wasted your time. Go watch a better sci-fi movie like Arrival.
So what exactly am I supposed to hate about this movie...? It wasn't the terrible disaster I was lead to believe. It was light entertainment that posed an interesting existential dilemma. Sure it ends rather neat and predictable, but it doesn't seem like it's trying to be any more than a simple fairy tale...
Despite the endless bad critics I've read, I really enjoyed every minute of this movie. In addition, there is Jennifer Lawrance in it so, you definitely should watch it.
Loved it. I failed to predict the ending, I was expecting their children to be the ones to land
If you ask me this is a love story in space.... it has all the ingredients boy wakes up alone, boy want's company, boy wakens girl and then they start kissing, girl finds out what happens, girl hates boy, tragedy appears and they discover that they still love each other... the end. other than that also a lot of things you already saw in a lot of movies and situations that you have an idea of what will happen next and 90% of the time you are right. Nice to see as a couple but alone..... nothing really there
I really enjoyed this movie, maybe a little predictable at times but a great watch.
The critics are not insane, this is not a great movie. It's not even the best one of the director, who did a much better job with "Headhunters", said that, the movie has a nice concept design and good pacing for his first 30 minutes, but his sound design is cheap, and the soundtrack never hits the spot, they lost the chance of making you feel as lonely as the characters. When Lawrence Fishburne's character showed up, the history improved a little but they never invest in that direction and decide to easy endings and cheap drama instead. It's not a enjoyable movie in any way, only if you are solely into concept designs - i belive this would work so much better as an animation - but is not a dumb movie, and doesn't make you feel angry or cheated while watching. Just don't go expecting nothing and you will not feel desappointed. I went expecting nothing and got nothing, so is kind of a win win situation.
I read terrible things about this movie...so expecting the worst I had it sitting on my view list for a while. Then I finally decided to hit the play button, because afterall I liked much the basic idea, the look of the movie and well I'm quite a J-law and sci-fi fan. So you know...what could possibly go wrong? For once nothing, almost.
"Passengers", against all odds, is a very good movie. And the odds here were huge, beside average audience often shallow criticisms, telling a story with basically just two actors and one indoor set is a real challenge especially for a mainstream flick.
It could easily work as a theater play, but as a proper movie that's a whole different story. Interestingly from this point of view "Passengers" feels like the simpler cheesy (but smart) hybrid from two Duncan Jones sci-fi movies, that is "Moon" and "Source Code".
So let's the spoilers begins, yes there are few a bits too much of Hollywood pleasing twists, especially towards the end. Still the movie has its strenght, enough to survive those few "meh" moments, science fiction here becomes the frame and backdrop to tell something about the human heart. It's the kind of science fiction story that would have fitted properly in a Ray Bradbury anthology.
What is really great in this movie, and that objectively kept the whole thing together, are the never less than brilliant performances of Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt supported by well written dialogues. Jennifer Lawrence has some pretty intense moments, even when the scripting seems to get a bit thin, she manages to keep her character true and vivid. The wide deserted interiors of the sets, mainly dominated by white colors, create even more focus on the acting. So again both Lawrence and Pratt did an amazing job, pretty much like a theater play stage, there isn't anything distracting or tricking the audience, in most scenes, most of the time the photography is tight and focused on the acting performance, so many good scenes don't even have/need dialogues but are built on physical acting, body language, looks and silent stares. That's proper acting and well beyond the average standard we are used in this genre of movies.
Don't bother too much about the bombastic Hollywood take on those final moments, and you will get a very good space romance drama, deep enough to leave you with something worth thinking after the closing credits.
Excellent movie IMO.. I really enjoyed it.
Heard allot of bad about this but I got bored and just needed something to watch.
Well I got allot more than I expected.
Simply outstanding! Excellent story and visually stunning
I've wanted to watch this movie ever since I saw Pratt and Lawrence in a television interview. Until I watched the film and thought to leave a comment, I hadn't realised that it had received terrible reviews. Like others have said, ignore the bad reviews this a thoroughly entertaining film. Really enjoyed it and a great performance by both main stars. It's a case of what would you do in the same scenario? Entertaining.
this was a really great movie, I don't understand the bad reviews... I feel kinda sad they didn't reach Homestead II but I understand that if they did, it would be kinda 'fanservice' and cliché
Shout by Si McClureBlockedParent2017-04-19T14:30:14Z
A fantastic premise, let down by predictable tropes, cliches and character arcs. The budgets resulted in some fantastic imagery, but an incredibly safe and sterile story. Plot devices are dropped into the film very suddenly to keep everything moving, it feels amateur and clumsy.
I'd instead recommend Interstellar, Moon or Arrival.