Review of Europa Report (2013) by Trevor M — 17 Jan 2014

With an even more realistic space setting than Gravity, a better use of the found footage style than Paranormal Activity, and a better build to the reveal of a giant sea monster than Jaws, Europa Report is something positively unique. The slow beginning that is used to create credibility of the story may turn some away early, but the final result is worth every minute.

- Details Breakdown -.

The Good: Europa Report is definitely a sight for sore eyes. It feels like every year there is another half-assed deep space monster-gunna-eat-ya survival thriller that does little other than scare the audience with some loud noises, but here is where the potency of the genre is truly seen. Any other year, this movie would have done exceptionally well, but unfortunately it was stacked against Gravity, which made it fly under the radar for most people, which is a real shame. The film has a real honest quality to it in about the world that is set up and the characters in it. The entire movie seems altogether plausible, which is a complete rarity for this genre, especially for ones with giant aliens. There are little details put in to make the movie feel like something that would be seen on the Discovery Channel late at night and that combined with the very clear understanding of how real space travel works makes this seem less like a sci-fi movie and more like a documentary. The characters are memorable, distinctive, and genuinely lovable and watching any of the team fall is a painful experience. The tight space that the movie takes place in slowly creates a feeling of claustrophobia that begins to turn into a sheer panic later in the movie when things go wrong. It is also made clear very early on that space is freakin dangerous and a tiny thing can kill you, unlike most movies that have people bounding around in space like they are on an amusement park ride. The found footage style of the movie is actually acceptable since it is done in such a higher quality than most and nearly all of the cameras are fixed, so there is not all of that jarring camera shaking that is present in so many other films. The found footage style also makes complete sense since not only are the cameras essentially the black box of the space shuttle, but they are also how the team communicates with each other. The movie lulls its audience into a fake sense of security before dropping bombs on them that make them fear for the characters. The tension build is done very well overall, especially in the Jaws-like fashion in which the ending is revealed. The completely believable uneventfulness of of the first part of the movie, although potentially one of the movie's downfalls, creates the illusion of a stable and realistic world. So much so, that the audience will believe everything else that follows, no questions asked. It is through this genuineness in the world that is created that the believability of the far fetched concept of finding a giant alien on another planet is made possible.

The Bad: The movie is admittedly a bit tiresome in parts to get through due to lack of anything happening. Putting too many things out of order makes the story much more confusing than it really is. It is almost as though it is trying too hard to make a simple story overly complex. The cutting in and out of the footage can get tedious at times. While this is done for the effect of suspense and mystery, sometimes the audience feels like it is missing something or some of the dialogue is left incomplete / garbled. The cutting back to the interviews on Earth feel out of place later in the movie, especially nearing the end when things have really heated up. Once the communication with mission control is lost, there should no longer be talking heads of NASA reps talking about what happens next. Sure, they explain later how they know what happened, but it takes away from the flow and gives away the ending a bit. The ending itself is a bit disappointing to be honest. Maybe that is just the part of me that always wants at least one protagonist to survive a movie, but having every single crew member die along the way is a bit depressing.