In just six short days, Sony Pictures will release their orignal sci-fi dramaPassengers, written byJon Spaihts, whose original script debuted on The Black List, featuring the most popular unproduced screenplays, way back in 2007. While its journey to the big screen isn’t quite as long as the 120-year journey Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) and Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence) have to endure in this movie, it seems that the final product is not a critical hit. The first reviews started going up today forPassengers, and the results do not bode well for this movie.
As of now,Passengersonly has 12 reviews posted onRotten Tomatoes, but of those reviews, only two are positive, with the movie posting an initial Tomatometer score of 17%. For those who are hoping for a comeback of original material, instead of the remakes, reboots, sequels and adaptations that have dominated the cinematic landscape as of late, the early panning ofPassengersis not a good sign. Even one of the two positive reviews isn’t all that glowing. Here’s an excerpt fromScott Mendelsohn’s positive review of thissci-fi dramaat Forbes.
“Nonetheless,Passengersworks as flashy, adult-skewing popcorn entertainment that stands apart from the pack. It has moments of action and peril, but it is mostly a drama that evolves into agrim romancethat quite commits to being “about” its most interesting subject matter. It works because the film is gorgeous to look at, because its two top-billed stars command our attention, and because it achieves enough of a rooting interest so that we care about the outcome. It starts better than it ends, and it gives short shrift to its most interesting subject matter, but it is good enough as a Saturday night at the movies option.”
After landing on The Black List,Passengersentered what seemed to be an endless development process that featured a number of stars and filmmakers coming and going. At first,Keanu ReevesandReese Witherspoonwere attached to play Jim and Aurora, withGabriele Muccinodirecting. Eventually,Rachel McAdamsreplacedReese Witherspoon, with production slated to take place in 2014, under the direction ofGame of ThronesdirectorBrian Kirk. Then The Weinstein Company dropped the film altogether, leading to Sony picking it up and settingMorten Tyldum(The Imitation Game) to direct, which is whenJennifer LawrenceandChris Prattbecame attached. The one constant throughout this process wasJon Spaihts' script, and according to The Hollywood Reporter’sSheri Linden, the story might have worked in the hands of a different director.
“There is, at first, a thrilling what-if inJon Spaihts' screenplay, which concocts a sort ofTitanicin outer space, with dollops ofSleeping BeautyandGravitythrown into the high-concept mix. Under less shiny, by-the-numbers direction, the story might have soared, or at least been more stirring. Yet whilePassengersoffers a few shrewd observations about our increasingly tech-enabled, corporatized lives, its heavy-handed mix of life-or-death exigencies and feel-good bromides finally feels like a case of more being less.”
Chris Pratt’s Jim Preston andJennifer Lawrence’s Aurora Lane are just two of 5,000Passengerson a 120-year journey to a new home, with everyone aboard sleeping in suspended animation. Jim and Aurora are awakened 90 years too early when their ship malfunctions. As Jim and Aurora face living the rest of their lives on board, with every luxury they could ever ask for, they begin to fall for each other, unable to deny their intense attraction… until they discover the ship is in grave danger. With the lives of 5000 sleeping passengers at stake, only Jim and Aurora can save them all. Despite this high-concept plot and the casting of two of the biggest movie stars in the world, EW’sChris Nashawatydidn’t pull any punches, callingPassengers"pretty bad." in his review.
“The signs to be hopeful were all there: A pair of dependable movie stars, a bullish Oscar-season spot on the release calendar, a director hot off of an Oscar-nominated film. But alas,Passengersis not very good. In fact, it’s pretty bad. The studio is positioning this newChris Pratt-Jennifer Lawrencesci-fi flick as a sort of Adam-and-Eve riff onThe Martian… That’s the way the trailer makes it seem, at least. And I’ll be honest, that’s a movie I’d kind of want to see. But that’s not what we get. Not even close. Passengers is way stupider than that.”
Indiewire’sKate Erblandalso takes the movie to task for its “icky questions of consent that run through its central narrative,” which are “brushed aside by the film’s iffy conclusion”. She does go on to praiseJon Spaihtsfor his “world-building” andJennifer LawrenceandChris Prattfor their “charming repartee,” while adding that the film should be much more entertaining than it actually is. Most of the critics seem to not have any issues with how the film opens, but have plenty of issues with the ending, with Variety’sOwen Gliebermanalso contending thatMorten Tyldumsimply was not the right filmmaker to tackle this story. Here’s what he had to say below.
“Passengers” is the tale of a lonely guy in space, the drama of an ethical conundrum, a love story featuring two of the hottest actors on the planet, and a turbulent sci-fi action-adventure - and for all of that, it manages to be not a very good movie. The two stars,Jennifer LawrenceandChris Pratt, are both intensely gifted and easy on the eyes, and the film takes off from a not-bad idea, but the setup is way better than the follow-through. (The Imitation GamedirectorMorten Tyldum) turns out to be the wrong filmmaker for an amorous space opera."
Most critics also pointed out thatPassengersdoesn’t belong in the same arena as recent sci-fi hits such asGravityand last year’sThe Martian, with The Wrap’sRobert Abelestating that, when compared to both of those movies, “Passengerswinds up a thoroughly misguided rocket to nowhere.” Aside from this critical drubbing,Passengerswill also have plenty to contend with on the big screen, opening alongsideAssassin’s Creedand the animated musicalSing, and arriving just five days after the highly-anticipatedRogue One: A Star Wars Story.Passengerswas reportedly made under a $120 million budget, so we’ll have to wait and see if this critical drubbing leads toPassengersbeing a commercial flop.
