Passengers

Passengers is a nicely done “exciting sci-fi romance” for which the most important thing is that the color of the costumes matches the eyes of the central duo. The set designs and visuals were inspired by everything from 2001 (the ship’s interiors) to Gravity (flying outside of the ship), while adding a nice idea with a zero-gravity pool. It’s a pleasant movie for the target audience of The Hunger Games. However, only about 30% of the hugely promising premise was actually used. I’d like to see this made by Inárritu or a young Ridley… (11.01.2017)

A hi-tech technological treat in the thrall of routine, passionless melodrama, in which the filmmakers figured that if they couldn't pull off the philosophy or the careful mating call, a bit of spectacular fire at the end would save them. The opening twenty minutes are from another world and the finale from a well-known universe where hysterical laughter can be heard. (02.10.2017)

Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt are showing prime acting talent in this movie. On the other hand, there are also Laurence Fishbourne and Michael Sheen who could strike your fancy. It’s basically a pretty intimate sci-fi that’s enticing exactly because of this intimacy. Personally, I was very pleased. Technically precise, brilliant as far as the actors go. The question is: what about the director’s take on this? I hear that that the ending wasn’t for everyone, but I liked it. As for me, I was satisfied and happy for each and every new sci-fi that catches the general public’s interest. Especially when it’s as high-quality as this one. (26.09.2017)

Two acting superstars fly through space, have adventures and find their way to each other despite a repulsive lie. And that's it. Passengers gives a lot of space to Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence, and both use it to no end, but unfortunately they rely more for charisma than interesting characters. The chemistry between the characters and the love line is the most interesting thing about their story, but the problem is that it takes up about a third of the film and without it Passengers runs out of breath. And the finale itself is downright bad. Pratt and Lawrence, however, try to push it forward at all times. What's next? Nice production design, good visual effects and some pretty thrilling scenes. So all in all, a pretty solid film, but I would have expected more from two of the most popular acting faces of our time. (16.05.2017)

Sci-fi has a tough time, all too often serving only as an exotic background for other genres. Frequently, you end up watching horror, crime, or action films in a futuristic disguise. Passengers presents a purebred romance set in a giant spaceship to bring it to life. If you approach the film as a drama, an adventure story, or, God forbid, start contemplating the logic of the displayed microcosm of a spaceship with elegant promenades, pools, and luxury attractions, you will not be able to avoid disappointment and condemnation. Passengers is an ideal complement for an evening with your loved one, holding a glass of wine in one hand and embracing your partner with the other. It is a pleasant film that is easy to forgive for its certain naivety and script shortcuts steering the story in the desired direction. I have never given a film in which Jennifer Lawrence was involved more than two stars, and as I look at her filmography, I find significantly more candidates for rubbish than promising pieces among those I have yet to see. I will thus accommodate the poor girl and give it four stars and an overall impression of 75%. As a bonus, the interesting design of the spaceship and its interiors also earn the film points. In terms of what sci-fi is commonly abused for, this is a very positive example... (23.04.2018)

A textbook sci-fi romance. A-grade actors, decent effects and if at the end the screenplay hadn’t begun freewheeling so unoriginally, the movie could have been excellent. In retrospect I’m disappointed that I had already learned of a fundamental twist (from the time when Keanu Reaves was meant to play Jim) which the trailers sensibly kept secret. P.S: Andy Garcia appears for precisely three seconds. (08.01.2017)

A space romance where there is little space and a lot of romance, which is often quite forced and out of place, but it has to be there. Unfortunately, the plot around the spaceship is very simple and just a sort of binder in the concept of a story about a couple's relationship and life in a rocket. It's not bad, the production design is impressive, full of neon and cutting-edge gadgets, but underneath the polished shell, it's a generic, fairly uninteresting relationship drama. (05.03.2017)

I was expecting a clever point during the ending, an unexpected revelation (for example that someone also woke Chris Pratt up)... Well, unfortunately, this is not a film for lovers of such things, because the finale is full of action, highly digital and very interesting. But I liked everything before that, and I kept asking, “What is he going to do now? What will she do when she finds out that he...?" and so on. I was extremely entertained by the robotic Michael Sheen and the romantic storyline of the main (only) protagonists, and I enjoyed the mystery which... which then screwed up the aforementioned ending. It’s too bad, but a lost two hours it was not. (28.12.2018)

The only film of its kind, a creatively grasped and logically developed romance in the cinephile milieu of the lovers of 2001: A Space Odyssey or Alien. The audience's enthusiasm for the comfort and limitless possibilities of a closed futuristic world is impressively confronted with an emerging moral dilemma, while the precisely rhythmic narrative seamlessly connects the lines of the overarching sci-fi conflict with the internal conflicts and relationships of the awakened characters. Laurence Fishburne's character may be a very violently executed scripted interlude whose sole purpose is to nudge the central pair towards resolving technical glitches, and the ending is too Hollywood, but the overall enthusiasm still far outweighs that, and not just because of the likeable Pratt and the beautiful Jennifer, who would be a turn-on for any guy with even a minimal sex drive, but also thanks to the delightful cinematic references, led by bartender Michael Sheen a.k.a. Lloyd from Kubrick's The Shining, who instantly ranks as one of the most endearing figures in the history of bartending and sci-fi. Anyone who talks about insanely wasted potential must have the most vivid imagination since Tolkien, 85% (27.02.2017)

In a way, Passengers could be conceived as a futuristic version of the Titanic, with an Overlook bartender on board, plus the modern equivalent of Sleeping Beauty starring a technician from below deck, a first-class intellectual and a giant ship with 5,000 passengers in fatal peril. The film impresses above all with its appealing visuals and the grounded performances of Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. In addition to the visionary notion of planetary habitation, the film invites us to reflect on the question of human behaviour (a drowning man grasping at straws) and the helplessness of omnipotent technology in a state of emergency (where machines fail, good old human hands come to the rescue). I believe that even more could have been extracted from the subject matter, but I was still satisfied with the final product. (19.03.2020)

Well, the idea wasn't half bad, and initially, I had a decent time with Robinson and his trusty robot bartender. But then the mummy woke up, and the whole movie took a wrong turn. The most frustrating part was how painfully predictable the story became. The screenwriter didn't hesitate for a moment, checking off all the clichés I expected without offering a single interesting twist to shake things up. Despite the sizable cast, only Michael Sheen managed to win me over. Arthur was perfect, adding some much-needed charm. However, the romantic couple failed to hold my interest, and Morpheus's decay was convincing but too fast. It felt like a wasted opportunity with all the promising material at hand. I can only assume the cleaning bots initiated their self-destruct sequence the moment they detected the mess on the main promenade. / Lesson learned: If you're planning to colonize a distant planet, pack a book or two, just in case. 3*- (26.02.2022)

I thought it would be something grand like Interstellar, but it's actually a sci-fi romance. But a sci-fi romance where both the sci-fi plane and the romance plane work well. Honestly, the sci-fi aspect is a bit better; after all, the romance is somewhat too obvious and follows an expected course, but there's simply chemistry between the actors here. It was enjoyable to watch, I empathized with the heroes every moment, and visually, it's stunning. (29.12.2016)

A straightforward space opera that's built primarily on divine visuals (it's totally badass in UHD) and appealing performances from Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. Overall, it's an ultra-romantic, at times seemingly heartrending space adventure that apart from the flashy visuals brings no surprises. (26.01.2020)

Passengers is a good film. A pleasant ride through the universe with a likeable couple, accompanied by calm music and nice visuals, which you will like to come back to from time to time. Morten Tyldum did a good job, and that’s it. The Norwegian director clearly has his qualities, but he lacks any greater cinematic ambition to push the envelope a bit more. As a result, the love plot doesn't work as well as it might in other hands (I'd rather not imagine what James Cameron could have done with the same material); it’s not worth talking about it. At least the ship includes the brilliant Michael Sheen, who never gives a half-assed performance. (03.03.2017)