PASSANGERS – Stays afloat in deep space…

I spy.

Sitting in the cinema – popcorn and fizzy in hand – culturedemandsgeeks initially didn’t know what to expect. We quite like watching trailers for a film before we go, but not much else. We do not even read into the plot details as we love the thrill of the unexpected. So Passengers was a great surprise for us all.

After their hibernation pods malfunction, Jim (Chris Pratt – Star Lord, Raptor training memes) and Aurora (Jenifer Lawrence – Hunger Games, X-Men) find themselves alone on a vast spaceship still 90 years from its new world destination. Can they accept their new lives and how long will they last as the ship’s malfunctions spread? are the questions asked in this space-themed helmer.

Passengers is a very different film than its trailer materials imply. It’s a much more character-focused story on the central pairing and in fact, you could even call it ‘romantic’ rather than being an action thriller. Now Bridget Jones or Titanic this certainly isn’t.

Instead it’s more of a reflection on human relationships and our need for social interaction with a few darker themes thrown in. We see Jim and Aurora go through several different stages in their unexpected co-residency, riding waves of embracing their newfound life or being sucked into the vacuum of regret over what they’ve lost.

They may like and even love each other (you decide!) but are still tortured because all they’ll have is each other… forever. It’s almost a dark humour play on cheesy couples remarking that all they need is each other to be happy. Although the more dramatic material of the pair in conflict is enjoyable, Passengers is easily at its best when the pair is sailing into the wind. Any scene involving them having fun or enjoying each other’s company brings with it infectious chemistry. These are two of the most likeable actors on this (and any other) planet and seeing them with smiles planted on their faces and wreaking havoc on their luxury ship surroundings is wonderful to watch. There are also some great inventive plays on their developing romance within the spaceship setting, like a very awkward first kiss in bulky armoured space suits.

If only I had my bow! Wait! That was another movie!

The magnificent ship itself( and it’s a magnificent ship, indeed), The Avalon, is a name that must not go unmentioned, both inside and out, the ship looks stunning. From brilliantly rendered CG shots of her corkscrew drifting through space to the creative production design of the ship’s more splendid passenger facilities like the swimming pool that hangs out into space.

The Starship Avalon

Don’t forget the robot contingent too! While Michael Sheen’s (Masters of Sex, Twilight saga) seemingly sentient android bartender Aurthur takes the centre stage (in more ways than one) the smaller service units make for interesting extras(think of the ‘skutters’ in Red Dwarf.) There’s the comedy of the same food/waiter robots having a different accent in each themed restaurant to the scuttling little floor cleaners busying themselves clearing up after Jim and Aurora.

Although the story is character-focused, that’s not to say there isn’t action and thrills. The majority of the action does take place in the final act so in that respect it could be criticised, including them purely as forced escalation towards a climax but director Morten Tyldum (The Intimidation Game) plants his seeds well. From the early build-up work, we get sense of niggling problems within the ship which slowly cascade to being critical (brown alert, anybody!). It gives Pratt and Lawrence plenty of heated material to play with and the reactor sequence in particular is a really thrilling set piece.

But the film could still use an earlier action feature though. Even keeping the focus on the central relationship an earlier incident could easily be worked into bonding process during their early days together.

Every emotion conveyed in outer space, possible!

That’s not the only issue either. The biggest malfunction is the film’s handling of its great central premise.

The final scenes in isolation are fine enough but when paired with preceding events they become damaging to the extent where some earlier material even feels rendered pointless. Again, keeping those spoilers away from the thermal exhaust port, it’s an ending that may seem fine when you’re in the cinema but by the time you’ve walked back to your car, you’ll already start poking holes in it.

Then you feel you have seen it all before, “Titanic in space” with Jim and Aurora ridding on many key moments from Rose and Jack’s ill-fated floating love affair, she’s first class & he’s (you know, not even fifth class), and early dance moments off the edge of the ship etc.

There’s even a completely thrown-in riff on their “You jump, I jump” line as Lawrence screams, “You die, I die” in the face of Pratt’s heroics (but at the same time, passengers would make a far better TITANIC 2. Although none of these similarities are overly negative, they do make it feel less original.

Despite being merely a trio, all three band members hit all the right notes. J-Law maybe the bigger billed name but Pratt takes the lead here and particularly impresses during his solo material and depictions of despair. Once you get past Aurora’s OTT name, Lawrence delivers everything her fans have come to love and expect from her. She makes Aurora part unattainable dream girl part soul mate girl next door which establishes Jim’s attraction to her brilliantly.

Apparently, Mr Sheen says all glassware is still the same shape!

While Sheen provides the perfect foil for either Jim or Aurora to express their feelings solo with his calm tones. He walks a terrific line between seeming endearing to the pair and merely telling them what they want to hear like it’s part of his programming (great work Mr Sheen.

                      Director, Morten Tyldum and Rodrigo Prieto(2016)

Passengers may not quite be the film you were expecting but it’s quality nonetheless. If you’re a couple with a varied film taste, it’s an ideal compromise film.

Sci-fi fans will get vast kicks out of the visuals and space travel elements while the unlikely romance will send the romantics aflutter. Overall, it’s an impressive venture into larger scale filmmaking by Morten Tyldum too, and it puts Chris Pratt and Jenifer Lawrence (finally) together…. let’s face it, that was never going to fail. Passengers, a space-filled Titanic epic, so go and get on board with it.