Passengers (2016) review

Today, I’m looking at a film from last year that I didn’t end up seeing in theaters when it came out but was genuinely curious about it in the months leading up to its release. The film in question is Passengers and I’ll admit that the main reason why I was interested in seeing it mainly stemmed from who was involved. In the director’s chair was Morten Tyldum, who made it big in Hollywood a few years back with 2014’s Best Picture nominee (and one of my favorite films of that year), The Imitation Game. And taking on the lead roles were two of Hollywood’s biggest stars; Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt. In short, this film’s crew had quite the pedigree, and while I’m sure that some may have viewed it as being nothing more than a ‘cash grab’ project made to bank on the success of its two leads, it was also an original sci-fi story, one that had been in the works ever since writer Jon Spaihts (who’s also worked on Prometheus and Doctor Strange) first wrote it in 2007. Upon release, the film did decently at the box-office with almost $300 million worldwide. However, it didn’t do as well with critics; it currently maintains a measly 31% on Rotten Tomatoes. Thus, because the film admittedly wasn’t one of my most ‘anticipated’ films of 2016, I didn’t see it in theaters because of this. However, in the months since, I’ve found that audiences have seemingly been more positive towards it. So, with that in mind, is Passengers an underrated gem from this past year? Well, despite a few narrative issues, I’d say it is.

In the future, a starship named Avalon embarks on a 120-year journey from Earth to the planet Homestead II, with over 5,000 passengers (consisting of both crew and future colonists of the planet) in tow. However, a run-in with an asteroid belt causes the ship to suffer various mechanical failures. This ends up resulting in one of the passengers, engineer Jim Preston (Chris Pratt), waking up early only 30 years into the trip. With no possible way of being put back into his hibernation pod, Jim languishes in the reality that he’ll be alone for the rest of his life onboard the Avalon, which is still 90 years away from Homestead II. However, one year after his awakening, he comes across another passenger, writer Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence). Jim, completely entranced by her, makes the bold decision to wake her up so that he wouldn’t be alone anymore, despite the morally damning implications that come with it. Once she’s woken up, she too begins to try and find a way to get back to sleep. But, once the situation turns hopeless, the two begin to bond and even start to get romantically attached. However, their blossoming romance soon starts to turn sour once Jim’s big secret is revealed. And if that wasn’t enough, the two find themselves having to save the ship and their fellow passengers when the mechanical failures from earlier start to become much more of a problem.

So, as I partially pointed out in the synopsis, the marketing for this film did not divulge one of its biggest plot-points. The primary trailer for the film implied that both Jim AND Aurora were woken up by accident. But, in the actual film, Jim is the only one of the two who gets woken up by accident. He then wakes Aurora up so that he can have a companion after already spending a whole year alone on the Avalon. This does lead to a fascinating moral dilemma; although it does give Jim someone to talk to (other than the ship’s robotic bartender Arthur (Michael Sheen)), it also means that he’s basically screwing up her life by dooming her to his exact same fate. In other words, what initially seemed to be a generally light-hearted sci-fi romance story ultimately has a rather dark edge to it. But, with that said, many felt that the film’s biggest problem is that, near the end, it deviates from this plotline and switches over to a generic ‘save the ship from destruction’ conflict. And I’ll admit that I do agree with this sentiment; this change in the plot does take away from the consequences that come from Jim’s big decision. Not only that, it also results in that storyline getting a rather iffy/rushed conclusion. But, despite this, the film is still engaging from beginning to end and is well-made on a technical level. The futuristic production/visual design is excellent, as is the score by the always reliable Thomas Newman. I can see why they were ultimately the two primary elements of the film that were recognized during awards season despite its generally mixed reception.    

Ultimately, though, one of the most important aspects of the film is the romance that forms between Jim and Aurora. Despite that ‘big secret’ of the former’s that is always ominously looming in the background, as well as the devastating consequences that come with it once it becomes known to the latter, these two do prove to have solid chemistry throughout. A lot of this, of course, is thanks to Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. The two of them are both excellent in their respective roles and are also generally likable protagonists. Now, of course, I know that I’m saying this despite the whole thing about Jim being the one who wakes Aurora up (let me be clear; I’m not saying that this decision is a ‘good idea’). But, aside from that red flag, Pratt is, for the most part, still just as charismatic as he usually is in his other big roles and his character does go through some redemptive moments over the course of the film, even if they don’t entirely make up for his big decision. Of course, this does mean that Aurora (and, therefore, Lawrence) is ultimately the more likable of the two. The two of them do manage to carry the film on their own; after all, it is primarily just them for most of the runtime. There are a few minor supporting characters here and there, including Michael Sheen as the ship’s robotic bartender Arthur, who gets some of the film’s best bits of comic relief, and Laurence Fishburne as one of the Avalon’s primary crew members who also ends up getting woken up early. In the end, though, it’s all about Pratt and Lawrence and they are arguably the film’s greatest highlight.

So, in conclusion, while Passengers didn’t get much praise from critics upon release, it seems like audiences have been a bit more positive towards it. And, overall, for a film that I didn’t see until after it was already out of theaters, I quite enjoyed it. Now, admittedly, it does have some major flaws, specifically the change in plot that takes away from what should be the primary focus of the story; Jim’s decision that ultimately affects both him and Aurora. But, despite this, it’s still a solid original sci-fi story with a fascinating moral dilemma and some excellent futuristic imagery. Perhaps it was a good thing that the trailers didn’t give away the big ‘twist’ regarding the big catalyst that sets the main plot into motion. Still, it would’ve been better had it not deviated over to the ‘save the ship’ storyline near the end. Instead, it should have been based entirely on Jim and Aurora’s relationship and the consequences that come from what Jim does to set it all up. On that note, the other great thing about the film is its lead duo of Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. These two work so well together and have such great chemistry that I totally wouldn’t mind seeing them star in another film together. Thus, you could say that they’re easily the main reason why this film is worth checking out. And despite its narrative flaws, Passengers is quite an interesting entry in the sci-fi genre that’s more than just a Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence vehicle.

Rating: 4/5