Runs out of steam with a daft and very predictable finale

Rating: 6/10 (23 December 2016)

Putting two of the biggest stars in the world right now together in a film about two people stranded on a spaceship might be a recipe for box-office success in the mind of a studio however, the real interest I had in Passengers was whether it could deliver a good enough story for the two stars to tackle. A lot of the personal success this film would have for me would come down to that.
Thirty years into the Starship Avalon's one hundred and twenty year journey, carrying 5,000 passengers and 250 crew members, to colonise Homestead II, a malfunction awakens two of the passengers, Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) and Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence). With ninety years left of the Avalon's journey, Jim and Aurora try to figure out what exactly made them wake up so early.
Now, I only saw the first trailer for Passengers so I was very surprised the way this film actually ended up going. When you look at it, it's almost as if Sony have been marketing a completely different film because when you see Passengers, you will get that there is no twist as to why they woke up, it's just that Jim wakes up first before deciding to wake Aurora up.
This is where the film treads a very thin line in the story it tells. To have Jim wake up and spend a year on the ship by himself, all while growing an almost stalkerish fixation on Aurora before deciding to wake her up explores an idea I never thought this film would even entertain. I would be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy Passengers for its first two acts, but then comes the final act.
It comes dangerously close to completely ruining the film, going for the full blown ridiculous finale that just feels totally out of place. Looking back on it, from the moment Laurence Fishburne briefly turns up as Chief Gus Mancuso, I felt the film lost its way totally. A lot of what they set up was hindered by a predictable and rather tame finale that should have been a lot braver, my preference being that they killed Pratt's character off while he was floating into space.
Visually the film is top of the range, strong special effects and detailed production design really settling the audience into the setting of this ship desolate ship with only two people awake on it. I also found Thomas Newman's score to aid the film perfectly, suitably accompanying Jim on his lonely beginnings on the Avalon and then crescendoing magnificently alongside the fast-paced finale, even if it is a little daft.
Coming to the performances, Passengers shows quite a new side to the cheeky and lovable Chris Pratt with his turn as Jim Preston, going from lovable to utterly creepy in half a film. It's a decision that could have backfired but Pratt handles the switch rather well. I was worried about Jennifer Lawrence phoning it in for Passengers however, I'm glad to say she actually looks like she gives a damn in this film.
Overall, Passengers isn't the stunning piece of sci-fi that we wanted, almost bottling it and going for the easy way out instead. It's quite generic stuff made to be entertaining by a strong start and middle, and two leads who do work quite well together.