I saw “Passengers” with my wife on Christmas Eve - thus fulfilling an age-old tradition in my family of going to see a big movie on Christmas Day or Eve. I had been wanting to see it since I first caught a trailer of it. I (unlike Sierra) love space movies. Some of my favorite movies of all time are centered on space including “Apollo 13,” “Gravity,” and, of course, “Armageddon.” And I guess those "Star Wars" films are alright too.
Without giving too much away, “Passengers” isn't all that much about space. The overarching plot is much more interesting. Of course space is there threatening the characters and heightening the drama, but much more is happening. “Passengers” ends up being a pretty fascinating story about desperation, desire, and disaster.
The synopsis is that there are 5,000 people in hibernation aboard a space ship headed to a new planet “Homestead 2.” There they will make a new life for themselves. The journey is to take around 120 years. A malfunction results in two passengers waking up before it is time - roughly 90 years before it’s time. And hilarity ensues! Just kidding. Actually, shit gets real in a hurry, especially as further malfunctions occur.
I loved the acting and the actors in the movie. I haven’t seen Chris Pratt in much, but I have liked him in what I’ve seen him in. And he seems made for this kind of role. He handles the range of emotions really well, and he doesn’t overact or overreach. I’ve seen Jennifer Lawrence in almost everything she’s done, and I’m continually impressed by her. She basically can’t miss. The camera loves her, and her acting is almost always spot on. Pratt and Lawrence have great chemistry in this, and the inevitable love story is pretty catching. Michael Sheen is the third of four mains and plays a cyborg bartender. He is perfect in this, and his character balances this odd role of saint and Satan. I couldn’t help but think of “The Shining” when I saw him. All at once he is comforting and terrifying. And when the ships starts failing, he flips in an epic way. Laurence Fishburne is the last main, and plays one of the crew who also is awakened early. Again, stellar actor and great job.
It likely goes without saying, but the effects and design of the movie are captivating. It’s not quite on the level of “Gravity,” but nothing I’ve seen so far is. The filmmakers do some pretty interesting things with zero gravity. Hint: don’t go swimming when you might lose gravitational pressure.
The only parts of the movie I didn’t enjoy centered around the lack of information about the company populating the new planet and hints of malfeasance there. Although, there is enough lack of help to make the viewer believe Comcast is behind it all. I was also amazed and maybe a little saddened that Andy Garcia has the shortest cameo in the history of film. Literally don’t blink if you are looking for him. I’ll be fascinated to know if there is more to the story there - except I don’t care because I’ve never like him.
I had a pretty cumbersome rating system, so now I will introduce a new one. Because I literally can’t go to a movie without getting popcorn, I will base all future reviews on buckets of popcorn - from 1 to 5 - 5 being “The Godfather” and 1 being anything with James Franco in it (kidding, but only barely). And yeah, I’m going to be a pretty tough grader - but I will give “Passengers” 3.5 Buckets. It's a great holiday movie to check out on the big screen, and it will lead to some conversations that might be less than comfortable. But hey it's Christmas, and we're all in misery!
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