Review of Passengers (2016) by Kevin P — 18 Dec 2017

Strengths: The idea of someone waking up 90 years early, alone, and in space, makes for a chilling tale. The movie is led by two of the most successful actors in the 2010's (Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence) and it is their chemistry that shines brightest. Even when the story lets them down, both actors bring their best and it keeps you watching. I also liked the addition of Arthur (Michael Sheen) as a bartending android. He was a good source of comic relief and allowed the concept to remain intact, while not making it just Pratt and Lawrence for two hours. Passengers also benefits from stunning visuals.

Weaknesses: When you first see the trailer, it gives off the idea that Jim and Aurora wake up together and must fight to survive, while figuring out why it happened. Instead, Jim actually wakes up a year before Aurora. He sees her sleeping, is smitten and researches her. He struggles with the decision to finally wake her up and doom her to his same fate. Once awake, Aurora falls for Jim and that becomes the heart of the story. Once she finds out what he did, she's rightfully furious. As their lives are on the line near the end of the film, they had two chances for Jim to sacrifice and redeem himself. The first time, he survives, which was relatively fine. However, he figures out a way to put Aurora back to sleep, while he remains awake to die. That would've been good redemption, but instead, she chooses to stay awake with him and live out their lives together. That felt like a cop-out ending and the "love conquers all" theme didn't work for me. Jim saving Aurora and getting what he deserves for his actions would've been a more satisfying conclusion.

Overall: Considering the cast and premise, this has to go down as one of the most disappointing films of the past five years. The flawed story wastes strong chemistry between the leads and produces a movie that lacks a lot.