High production values, great star power, problematic story

Rating: Null/10 (18 June 2017)

The starship Avalon is in the middle of its long journey to a new colonizable planet, carrying thousands of sleeping passengers. But then something causes one of them to wake up decades ahead of his time and now he has to face the long solitude of space travel completely alone.
Let's start with the good stuff. The film looks amazing, first of all. The sets are amazingly detailed, the CGI is some of the best seen to date and the whole film has a very pleasing look to it. Full marks for the production team. I also really appreciate some of the science shown in the scenes taking place outside the ship. They're small touches, mostly, but they're something you don't see in every scifi film and show that at least someone behind the scenes had a working knowledge of physics involved with space, zero-gravity and vacuum.
The cast is also strong. Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence are both rising stars in Hollywood, and for a reason. Both give good, credible performances and more than easily carry the weight of the film on their shoulders. I also really like Michael Sheen's small role in the film. At least half of the film's heart revolves around his charismatic performance.
And then the problematic part. The plot in and on itself is serviceable. It's not great, but it's executed well enough to make it work beyond its initial limitations. The problem is Chris Pratt's character, who ends up making some truly questionable choices in the course of the film. Choices that look really bad, not just on paper, but in reality as well. Choices that I can easily see as deal breakers for some people. Personally I do think that the film handles those choices with the needed gravitas and doesn't sugarcoat them in any way, which saves the film for me, but I can totally see someone not being so forgiving.
And that's Passengers. It's extremely well-made scifi adventure romance with some nasty undercurrents. Proceed with caution, but also with an open mind.