Passengers

2016  PG-13  SCIENCE FICTION  1h 56min

CAST— Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne

MUSIC— Thomas Newman  DIRECTOR— Morten Tyldum

     Don't be fooled by all the trappings of this seemingly standard science fiction. At its heart this film is actually a good ol' fashioned romance. The Avalon is a starship headed for Homestead II, a distant planet being colonized by Earthlings. Said Earthlings, about 5,000 of them, are in hibernation, sleeping away the 120 years it takes to make the journey. But a hiccup occurs when passenger Chris Pratt awakens only thirty years after takeoff. The question is what is he to do for the remaining ninety? He goes a little crazy with hopelessness until he sees a sleeping beauty (Jennifer Lawrence, whose character name is Aurora, by the way) whom he eventually falls in love with. Despite the fact that he would be dooming Lawrence to the same lonely life he now endures and against his better judgment, he awakens her, blaming malfunctioning equipment for the rude interruption. The two eventually ignite a beautiful romance; but all does not remain golden. When Lawrence learns that Pratt orchestrated her awakening, thus shattering her hopes of seeing Homestead II, she is predictably miffed. But despite their now seriously strained relationship they must band together when the ship begins malfunctioning big time. Will the peril of certain doom rekindle the love that was lost? Though glossy CGI permeates the film this isn't really an action-oriented SF epic. Granted there are scenes of death defying intensity but doesn't every chick flick have the same?

OUR RATING— ** ½