Review of Air (2015) by Kevin P — 14 Aug 2015

A suspense drama in the mould of "Sunshine" or "Moon", Air aims to take a high concept premise and deliver a low-fi thriller. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite reach the standard of its aforementioned genre predecessors.

In a future where chemical warfare has made the surface air un-breathable, engineers Bauer (Norman Reedus) and Cartwright (Djimon Hounsou) wake from a six month sleep in their underground facility and set about another timed check for signs of change above. It's a really nice idea, but it's never fully explored. We're given snippets of the why and the how, but we're left with clunky dialogue exposition do do the heavy work..

Of course, something goes wrong (Underground, nobody can hear you scream) and the fact one of the two might just be going crazy adds to the potential drama.

What follows is fairly similar to that of Sunshine, but less well written, lacking in logical suspense and empathy for our characters. It's a well directed film for sure, and the performances are good, but you soon get a sense of disappointment and feeling that everyone involved deserved a more highly polished script.

The film really falls away in the final act, but there are a few really great sequences and Air will appeal to hardcore sci-fi/low-fi fans. It's worth a DVD rental if not a trip to the cinema (if nothing else better is out).

A disappointing yet not painfully bad suspense thriller. It's worth checking out when it eventually gets a UK release, but don't hold your breath.