part science fiction action-adventure, part romance, part morality play – and all engrossing

Rating: 8/10 (29 December 2016)

"Passengers" (PG-13, 1:56) is indeed a sci-fi adventure movie, but it is not, as you might assume from its theatrical trailer, an action movie. There is action in it, but its entertainment value and the meaning of its story both come from places much deeper than your typical sci-fi actioner – and have the symbolism to match. The film's premise concerns a futuristic business arrangement in which an earth-based company sells tickets to people who are passengers on the company's spaceship which will take them to a distant planet which they will then colonize. The destination planet in this story is called Homestead II, which could be seen to represent the self-sufficient lifestyle known as homesteading and/or the Homestead Act of 1862 in which the U.S. government gave qualifying citizens uninhabited lands out west. The spaceship that's taking this story's passengers to their new home is named Avalon, which hearkens back to a fabled island paradise that's part of the legend of King Arthur. One of this film's titular passengers is named Aurora, the same name used for the title character in Disney's "Sleeping Beauty", which is very appropriate for a main character who is one of 5,000 people who are supposed to hibernate aboard the Avalon for 120 years until they are about to arrive at Homestead II. Supposed to. For one last bit of symbolism, check out the movie's poster. The dots and dashes below the title ominously represent the Morse code message "S.O.S.", which is said to stand for "Save Our Ship".
The trouble starts when all of the passengers and crew are 30 years into their hibernation and a small meteor passes through the Avalon, beginning a slowly unfolding chain reaction of malfunctions. One of the first mechanical glitches results in Avalon passenger Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) waking up from his scientifically induced sleep and then discovering that he is the only one awake. Realizing that waking up 90 years early dooms him to spend the rest of his life on the Avalon and almost certainly die before it reaches its destination, Jim (who happens to be a mechanical engineer by trade) desperately tries to figure out how to return to hypersleep to no avail. After trying everything he can think of and eventually running out of ideas about how to fix his predicament, and with only an android bartender (Michael Sheen) for company, a beautiful woman named Aurora (Jennifer Lawrence) also rises too early.
Jim and Aurora are now the only two people awake on the Avalon – and are completely unaware that the ship is malfunctioning. Aurora is a writer who gave up her life on earth for the adventure of traveling to another world, while the appeal of Homestead II from Jim's point of view is one of using his talents in a fresh way and building something new. These two passengers are very different, but turn out to be a great match. They spend a lot of time together, take advantage of the ship's futuristic amenities and form an undeniable emotional attachment. But is it love or a lack of options? And what will happen when the ship's barely noticeable glitches become serious problems? Those are just a couple of the questions that this story raises – along with several intense and thought-provoking ethical dilemmas.
"Passengers" is an intimate, but complex and very entertaining film. Written by Jon Spaihts (who gave us similarly deep, imaginative and entertaining scripts for 2012's "Prometheus" and 2016's "Doctor Strange") uses the sci-fi genre to tell a story that is part science fiction action-adventure, part romance, part morality play – and all engrossing. Director Morten Tyldum (who also directed the 2014 Best Picture Oscar nominee "The Imitation Game") makes the film in turns dramatic, suspenseful, sweet and heart-breaking and makes sure we have great visuals on which to feast our eyes. This film is a combination of "Cast Away", "Titanic", "Gravity" and "When Harry Met Sally", but has an impact all its own, an impact that's difficult to convey to someone who hasn't experienced it – and impossible to communicate without resorting to major spoilers. The film touches on genre tropes and suffers from minor plot holes, but avoids cheap twists and unearned emotional moments and will leave you loving the journey it takes you on – and thinking deep thoughts long after the credits roll. With a great writer-director combination, wondrous sights, and layered, heartfelt, sympathetic performances from its stars, "Passengers" is a head and heart trip you should definitely take. "A-"