Passengers

One can surely say that the sizzling romance between Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt is out of the charts. The two seem perfect for each other from a romance point of view, and when you see the movie, it becomes apparent they were perfect for the roles they were given, this movie can be considered a fusion of genres as well since it mixes a romance with elements of sci-fi. Passengers might not have appealed to some hardcore fans, and even I am willing to agree with them over an issue. Like many other films, this has a lacking final act too, but as always, its the journey that matters not the end goal in reaching a destination.

The American film industry writer, Jon Spaihts gained a newfound level of fame when he was singlehandedly credited for the writing of the movie. The supersonic success of the film Lead to him gaining recognition even when appears of Pretomeus, and Doctor Strange where he first appeared. And I guess some of the critics and film makers are on the same page. While the hard-nosed reality may be different, Passengers is certainly taking on a path filled with romance, and devotion.

Set 500 years in the future, Chris Pratt portrays Jim Preston, a simple engineer whose bodybuilder physique sets him apart. Pratt character is one out of ten thousand passengers, flying on a luxury spaceship headed to planet Homesteads II. But to reach their final destination, they have to endure a painful 130 year journey to make it easier, Jim and the other passengers are put inside hibernation pods. However, while Pratt’s character is on his way, the spaceship sustains damage due to an unforeseen meteor storm, resulting in Jim’s hibernation pod malfunctioning.

As the struggles of space travel takes a toll on Jim, he soon realizes he has a long and boring time with an artificially intelligent android as his only form of entertainment. In the dark abyss of an empty spaceship, Jim is filled with excitement when he wakes up, and the misery strikes him when he realizes he has 90 more years to go. The spaceships Fred provides are borderline eerie, and even the recorded hologram ‘help’ messages are not alleviating. Even when re-hibernation isn’t an option, and with not a single soul accompanying him on this life altering journey, Jim loses himself in the beauty of journalist Aurora Lane, and tries to befriend Arthur, an android bartender.

He’s around a bunch of captivating people and yet feels full of despair and emptiness, he starts watching her autobiography which tries to alleviate these feelings, and embarks on a quest to wake up once in a lifetime beautiful journalists in the hope that she can help him get through space travel. Jim wished he can break the pod open, however, was worried whether or not he has the right to doom her to suffering. But there being no other choice, he goes ahead and vies for it.

Passengers showcases an unconventional storyline that intertwines space travel and artificial intelligence, and pays homage to Jim’s struggle for a perfect future amidst the vastness of space the Jim casts a long barrage of unanswered questions, that in totality creates a unique narrative that sits firmly at the intersection of horror and sci fi.

Tyldum and Spaihts appreciate Kubrick’s obsession with large, off putting and almost vacant spaces. Although the Incorporated Engineering spaceship resembles the Overlook hotel, the ghost is actually Jim.

On the other hand, Lawrence’s character, Aurora, has to deal with the more difficult issue of meeting Jim for the first time in space especially with the knowledge of everything that happened to her in the past. She can consider herself lucky that it was not Danny DeVito who was going to mess her up and repressively conceal the jimmy behind his waist. Swimming as well as going to the gym are great pastimes for Aurora, an opportunity to flaunt her wonderful reasonably sized mesh one-piece. As part of comic relief, we see a small portion of Jim’s body too. They serve as a distraction. But in the case, as Beckett puts it, in the case of waiting for Godot: it would have passed regardless. Now that is the question.

What a question. So, having once established this francs, the movie will dive back to abyss of silliness that it once came from, distinctly silly yet amusing, for a lack of better wording, idea; Outrageous such but amusing. So now things must commence which unfortunately cultivates the anti-climatic conditions. But not before the film gives in and stretches the boundaries of technology to love, desire and pleasure. No matter how much alone and afraid Jim is, the fact of being alone provides him with the ultimate pleasure of being pampered by the best leisure time facilities in the world: Arthur, a fully actualized basketball court, a dance hall, robot waiters, and unlimited access to all the alcohol one could ever want.

He and Aurora are children in a candy store where they can never leave, and where they have only candy to eat.

There is no end to the progress in the movie, but there is Lawrence, who renders this kind of narrative complete by providing the rocket fuel to the story which would otherwise seep out through the cracks. She has an unshakably twinkly sense of humor about herself, even though she is going through this whole process very earnestly. Lawrence is not a bystander. She is the one driving this vehicle.

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