Greetings my movie-loving intrepidarians!
It’s been a while since I’ve done a film review so it’s high time I changed that.
Passengers begins with a scenic view of the starship Avalon bound for the idyllic planet of Homestead II from Earth. The ship’s passengers are all held in stasis in order to make the century-long journey.
That is until a pod malfunctions and mechanic Jim Preston awakens to a ship devoid of human company. Our hero attempts to busy himself with hobbies, recreation and food to cover his loneliness. Jim finally releases the beautiful Aurora Lane from her pod. In an attempt to win her friendship and affection Jim tells her that her pod malfunctioned and spends much time with her.
All of Jim’s plans fall apart, however, when Aurora learns that Jim released her from stasis himself. Angry and embittered Aurora attacks him and effectively ignores him at every chance. Disrupting their feud is the awakening of Gus, the ship’s Chief Deck Officer, who ascertains something is wrong with the Avalon. Mitigating the feud between them Gus urges them to fix the Avalon before all the passengers perish. Sadly, Gus dies while tasking them with the perilous mission.
Forced to act alone, Jim and Aurora race to the ship’s reactor to find the problem. Jim bravely determines to vent the reactor. Doing so puts him in the path of the reactor fallout. Aurora, now remembering her love for him pleads with him not to do it. Jim maintains his course and the two successfully vent the reactor with Jim dying in the process.
Aurora, panicked and grief-stricken takes Jim’s body to a med chamber which revives him. Jim barely escapes the ordeal with his life and the two determine to spend the rest of their days aboard the Avalon. Aurora leaves behind a record of their story to the ship’s passengers who are seen awakening on the new planet Homestead II.
I loved this movie. Passengers is rife with emotion and significance; every scene in the film has importance and the two protagonists sell the drama in a stellar performance. Pratt and Lawrence do a fantastic job of portraying the youthful, starry-eyed, hopeful lovers. I felt Jim’s pain when he wavered between waking up Aurora or leaving her be. In his stead I would be equally racked with guilt and loneliness like he was. Almost everything Jim Preston did on his journey is what I would have done.
Not to be outdone either was Jennifer Lawrence’s character of Aurora Lane. Lawrence conveys the deepest sensations of love, hope and betrayal. I both liked and respected her character who was not simply relegated to ‘the protagonist’s love interest.’
From the captivating music to the top-quality special effects to the grade-A acting Passengers did not disappoint. Passengers took me on a wild ride I did not regret for a single minute.
If you haven’t seen this film yet go give Passengers a try.
It’s a must.
Intrepid Venture 