A visually impressive Sci-Fi romance

Rating: 7/10 (1 February 2017)

It's not hard to see what Passengers could've been, but this big budgeted and much hyped Sci-Fi romance starring two of the worlds most well-liked Hollywood stars is one of the more curiously forgotten-about spectacles of the increasingly busy end of year releases. Really, though, this largely critically panned feature is not half as bad as many have called it out to be.
Very far from the Titanic in space it was looking to become, Passengers is still a polished and visually arresting tale of love and survival on human transport ship Starship Avalon that allows everyone's new favorite good guy Chris Pratt a chance to show his solid leading man credentials and The Imitation Game director Morten Tyldum a chance to go wild with the possibilities of imagining what life would be like aboard a ship designed and catered to delivering such valuable cargo on a 100 plus year voyage.
From themed restaurants, spacesuit adventures, swimming pools right through to a manned bar, Passengers design of Avalon is a sight to behold and provides a point of difference to our average movie space ship that is often grum and lifeless while the film's often lighter tone is highlighted by Pratt's turn as the unfortunately early awoken Jim Preston.
To say that Passengers doesn't go to dark places however would be a disservice to a film that perhaps goes too dark for some people's tastes, but it feels as though Tyldum and his team can't do these element's full justice and some of the films 'big questions' don't get fully formed answers, while the films 4th act is a particular letdown, especially after the movie's impressively captivating opening stanza.
The other rather glaring problem that stops Passengers from becoming the sum of it's parts is the introduction of Jennifer Lawrence's Aurora Lane who plays a true support turn to Pratt's Jim, but while the two likable actors clearly get on like a house on fire (as evidenced by the press tour) the budding romance of Jim and Aurora as they come to grips with their situation on Avalon never really comes out trumps.
Had the duos off-screen rapport been better utilized between the pair it's likely that much more of Passengers more corny dialogue and underdeveloped situations could've come off a little smoother, while the sometimes uneasy relationship the film develops between it's lighter and darker moment's would've felt much more fluent.
Heading into Passengers with an open mind and willing attitude will allow the viewer to experience a fun deep space adventure filled with enough romance to keep the Hallmark crowd well and truly happy and Sci-Fi fans intrigued by the imagination on show. By no means a Sci-Fi classic, Passengers is still a journey worth jumping on board for.
3 and a half pesky security doors out of 5