MOVIE REVIEW: PASSENGERS (2016)

From IMDB:

Storyline

The spaceship, Starship Avalon, in its 120-year voyage to a distant colony planet known as the "Homestead Colony" and transporting 5,259 people has a malfunction in two of its sleep chambers. As a result two hibernation pods open prematurely and the two people that awoke, Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) and Aurora Dunn (Jennifer Lawrence), are stranded on the spaceship, still 90 years from their destination.

40 Metascore From metacritic.com

Reviews 27 user | 98 critic

From Rotten Tomatoes:

Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt star in an exciting action-thriller about two passengers who are on a 120-year journey to another planet when their hibernation pods wake them 90 years too early. Jim and Aurora are forced to unravel the mystery behind the malfunction as the ship teeters on the brink of collapse, with the lives of thousands of passengers in jeopardy.

Rating: PG-13 (for sexuality, nudity and action/peril)

Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Morten Tyldum

Written By: Jon Spaihts

In Theaters: Dec 21, 2016 Wide

Runtime: 116 minutes

Studio: Columbia Pictures

TOMATOMETER 31%

Average Rating: 5/10

Reviews Counted: 129

Fresh: 40

Rotten: 89

Critics Consensus: Passengersproves Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence work well together -- and that even their chemistry isn't enough to overcome a fatally flawed story.

AUDIENCE SCORE 68% liked it

Average Rating: 3.7/5

User Ratings: 25,957

This is the Avalon. It's on a 120 year journey to a new planet, everything was going fine until it had a little fender bender. ©Columbia Pictures

Another movie where Chris Pratt ends up in floating in space slowly becoming a human popsicle...

Passengers, a movie that some may have been waiting for. A movie that everyone thought would be a story about two people who find themselves alone on a ship travelling through space having to fight against the odds to stay alive and while falling in love with each other. Boy, were we wrong about all that. 

Anyway, by now you've probably read quite a few reviews and have found out what the story is about. You've probably also gathered by now that a lot of critics didn't think that this movie was all that good. Well, in some ways I do agree with them but I still sort of liked it.

Look at that face, you know he's up to no good. ©Columbia Pictures

Some of the things I liked.

• The story. I didn't really know what to expect to be honest, and yes I know it is uneven and that they really didn't handle the darker issues all that well because it just jumps right in the middle into the usual ROMCOM cliches before dumping both of them into a crisis both situationally and in their relationship, I still found it entertaining. 
• Like the cast. Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt did a pretty good job. Enjoyed Michael Sheen as the android bartender.
• Loved the visuals. Everything looks really cool, really futuristic. 

When you've been alone for a year you do end up doing something crazy. ©Columbia Pictures

Some of the things that irked me.

• As mentioned by lots of reviewers the uneven treatment of the themes. The movie feels like a mash-up of several different themes/ideas. They've barely made it into a cohesive story but because of that if you're looking for a deep story with interesting themes and questions to ponder, you're going to be a little disappointed. Everything ends with everyone forgiven and everyone else on the Avalon discovering something magical. A Disney sort of ending.
• The science and how some things just don't add up. It looks really cool no doubt but like the story, it's a little uneven. 
• The convenient way that Gus Mancuso (Laurence Fishburne) shows up to provide them access to the bridge and give them a hand at discovering what the problem with Avalon is before dying. This just felt like they ran out of ideas on how to wrap things up. 

In this scene there's a huge fire on the other side and things get really hot but not everything conveniently. ©Columbia Pictures

Overall I thought this was not a bad film. It could have been so much better of course especially since they had capable actors in the cast. Passengers is a movie where you got to just shut off that thinking brain, that analytic side and just watch. Have fun watching Chris Pratt and enjoy how amazing Jennifer Lawrence looks. Watch this movie the way you would watch the Transformer movies by Michael Bay. I'm giving Passengers a 3.5 out of 5. 

Check out the trailer below.

A GREAT BIG THANKS TO GSC CINEMAS AND SONY PICTURES MALAYSIA FOR THE PREMIERE PASSES!