Review of Pandorum (2009) by Mark D — 13 Nov 2010

Pandorum is easily one of the most ambitious sci-fi films to come along in a while, and despite the fact that it feels as if it steals ideas from nearly every classic sci-fi/adventure/horror movie ever made, the direction and pacing is very tight and the plot continually keeps you guessing.

The film feels very much like old-school sci-fi, thanks to director Christian Alvart's total understanding of the genre and its potential for a wide variety of scenarios. The basic concept in the beginning quickly explodes in multiple directions, as Bower (Ben Foster) moves deeper into the structure of the Elysium and meets up with a small fellowship of survivors attempting to fend off hordes of man-eating monsters, and Payton (Dennis Quaid) struggles to uncover what happened to the ship while struggling with his own inner-demons.

At times it's edge-of-your-seat suspenseful, at times it's horribly brutal and terrifying, and at times it's downright silly (like Bower's Mega-Man-inspired arm-canon weapon). That being said, with this many twists and turns, I guarantee you won't be able to guess the very ending before it happens.

In the end, it's a thrilling ride but it inevitably feels a step behind the true classics that it so openly draws from.