Romance and sci-fi in outer space

Rating: 7/10 (24 October 2017)

Although 'Passengers' had one of the most unique concepts of any film in recent years, had talented actors on board and the production values looked wonderful from the advertising, the critical reception (not just from critics but also from those who dislike Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence and immediately saying the film would be terrible, not being ignorant this actually happened) was a turn off.
Seeing it with my flatmate last night, who had seen the film before, really liked it and had recommended it to me, 'Passengers' turned out to be a much better film than expected. It's not perfect and can see where some of the criticisms are coming from, but it was to me a beautiful and thought-provoking film that raised some interesting questions and thoughts. Unlike a lot of people on the internet and particularly on IMDb, critics get a lot of respect from me and often we are on the same page. There have been a fair share of times where our opinions have been different, when a praised film didn't do much for me and a panned one surprised me in a good way. 'Passengers' is one of the latter examples and a lot of the problem with its less than enthusiastic critical response is to do with advertising which didn't indicate that it would be as unconventional as it was.
For one thing 'Passengers' looks wonderful, the advertising didn't lie in this regard. It's beautifully shot and crisply edited while the lighting and sets have a lot of atmosphere and are imaginative in their scope, showing the beauty, wonder and mysteriousness of outer space. It is easy to see why the production design garnered an Oscar nomination The special effects at their best make the jaw drop.
Don't think that Thomas Newman's score has been talked about enough despite being nominated for an Oscar (losing out to 'La La Land'), it's understated and hauntingly beautiful in a distinctive Newman. 'La La Land' deserved the win but of the other Best Original Score nominees (which included 'Jackie', which should never have been nominated) 'Passengers' for me was one of the better ones.
There are many moments where 'Passengers' provokes a lot of thought and is intriguing, raising some very interesting questions and ideas. The story on the most part didn't lose me, while it is not your conventional thrilling sci-fi film with lots of special effects and action it has its fair share of poignancy and intrigue. The initial fiery animosity turning into a beautiful love story was convincing thanks to the chemistry between Pratt and Lawrence. The direction isn't mind-blowing but is competent before not knowing what to do with itself in the final quarter or so.
Pratt is more understated than usual, in a cast against type dramatic role for an actor better known for comedy. He handles it very well and commands the screen. Lawrence gets a lot of hate here, but to me she is one of the better actresses today under 30 (her acting actually has a beyond her years feel to it). Here she is luminous and touching. Believed these two as lovers and found myself caring for their love story due to their success in keeping it alive. It's not just them though, Michael Sheen is amusing as Arthur and while his screen time is short (too short) Laurence Fishburne gives his characters pathos and dignity.
On the other hand, 'Passengers' doesn't live up to full potential. Its biggest flaw is the last 30 minutes, it would have worked better as something more suspense or action-oriented but instead felt like a tacked on logic-free anti-climax where too many things felt unresolved and it was too over-the-top and ridiculous.
While the writing did intrigue and provoked a lot of thought, it didn't always work. Some of it did get confusingly over-complicated, with things needing to be made clearer and less vague, and other parts were forced. Pacing also could have tightened in places, the beginning while interesting in what was explored takes a little long to get going but the film really gets going properly once Lawrence's character wakes up.
In conclusion, was not sure what to expect but got a well above-average, to me it was good despite a few problems. 7/10 Bethany Cox