Directed by Oscar-nominated director Morten Tyldum who is best known for 2015’s The Imitation Game, Passengers is a fairly good and visually appealing sci-fi film that ultimately falls short of its lofty potential with its casting of Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt. Set in the future when intergalactic travel is possible, Chris Pratt plays Jim Preston, a mechanical engineer from Earth who mysteriously wakes up too early from hibernation on his way to the distant colonial planet of Homestead II. Over time, he falls in love with the only other passenger to accidentally wake up, a beautiful young woman named Aurora who is played by Jennifer Lawrence. After their relationship begins on a rather controversial foot, they discover that something is very wrong with the spaceship they are traveling on with 5,000 other hibernating passengers. If they do not come up with a solution, the two are faced with spending the rest of their lives in space since they are supposed to reach their destination in 90 years. Although they are surrounded by luxurious amenities and a friendly robotic bartender named Arthur, played by Michael Sheen, they are desperate to find a way to go back into hibernation. The highlight of the movie is the terrific chemistry between Lawrence and Pratt, two of the hottest actors today whose charisma and attractiveness make their on-screen love interest more appealing. Also, the modern sets and props, accentuated by CGI, give the film a realistic and polished vision of future space travel. Overall, despite the visually arresting aesthetic, the movie never fully takes off and is beset by a slow pace with very little action, unusual for a Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster with such a high budget and talented actors.
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