'Blu-ray or Bust' - PASSENGERS

'Blu-ray or Bust'

PASSENGERS (2016, PG-13, 116 minutes, START MOTION PICTURES/COLUMBIA PICTURES)

Initially, a lot of people were disappointed with this film because it turned out to be a “love story”.

Those people totally misunderstood the film.  This is a movie about a lonely dude that basically kills a pretty lady.  Seriously.  Jim Preston (Chris Pratt, doing his usually dependable everyman routine) is awoken ninety years early from hyper-sleep while on a journey to another planet.  With no way to go back into hibernation mode, he does what any guy would do: he wakes up Jennifer Lawrence.  I mean, really—who wouldn’t?  The problem is that there is almost a century-worth of traveling left to do, so he has pretty much condemned her to death.

Selfish a-hole.

So, the “love” in this film is a bit… STUPID.  Yes, he ponders and debates for two-and-a-half minutes before deciding to awaken her.  Of course she finds out—this is Hollywood, there is a formula for “love” stories, and of course there is a conflict which drives them apart.  And of course there are a butt-ton of your typical other regurgitated plot lines - “Will they survive in a ship that is steadily falling apart?”  “How many romantic gestures can you fit into a spaceship?”  “Which one will make the ultimate sacrifice?” and, “Why doesn’t Andy Garcia have any speaking lines?”  They are all burning questions that help build a ‘love’ story around what you should really be paying attention to: the effects.

Screw the story, and who cares if love wins out—give me more of that wonderful ship and the beauty of space.  If there is one area where this film excels, it is in the effects—and not all of them are CGI.  Watch the special features, and be amazed at how many of the sets were actually built.  The LED room is pretty bitchin’, as is the harness created to mimic weightlessness.  From the design of the ship, to its mechanics and aesthetic properties, the “Avalon” is a wonder to behold.

My favorite room on the ship, from the attention to detail to the android which inhabits it (Michael Sheen) to the carefully constructed ambiance, has to be the bar.  And with an obvious nod to Stanley Kubrick’s hotel bar in THE SHINING, it feels familiar and welcoming.  Just without the crazy evil ghosts from THE SHINING…

Do not even try watching this on regular DVD; without the crisp, clear quality of the Bu-ray, you may wind up paying more attention to the actual story.  Which you shouldn’t.  The acting is fine, the dialogue is okay (if not a bit rehashed at times), but the star of this film is the ship.  Watch this movie for the effects and the sets.  The detail in this film is awesome, and should be appreciated for what it really is:

A love letter to Stanley Kubrick and The Titanic.

           

Film Grade: B-

Special Features: A

Blu-ray Necessary: Most definitely

- T.S. Kummelman