'Passengers' Review

Passengers is a 2016, Sci-Fi movie starring Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt. In the movie, a group of people have been put in a form of hibernation while they travel through space toward a new colony planet, 120 years away. During the travels, Jim, played by Chris Pratt, is awakened due to a disturbance in the ships system. Later, Aurora, played by Jennifer Lawrence, joins him.

Though the movie preview made it seem as if this movie was an action film — with the characters having to find a way to save themselves, the other passengers, and the ship — it turns out, it is more of a romance in a science fiction setting. Yes, there are several moments of intense action while Jim and Aurora work to fix the problems with this ship which caused Jim to wake up in the first place, but I felt more of a connection to the love story involved rather than the action element. This seems to hold true with other members of my family who watched the movie, as well. I certainly believe this is a movie that can be watched on a date night with your Sci-Fi fan boyfriend/girlfriend.

What I Liked

Overall this was a sweet movie. I loved the struggle Jim went through early on in the movie, and how he felt a need to question his motivations for things. There was an honesty to his emotions that came through the screen and became very touching.

While the movie starts out a little slow, there is a good mix of soft slow moments and intense action to keep you from getting drowsy or bored. With the small cast, it was important the characters have dynamic personalities in order to be captivating.

Something odd I loved was the fact that Jennifer Lawrence’s character’s name was Aurora, as in Sleeping Beauty. For me, the symbolism of her name was fitting to her character and her purpose in the movie. As I watched, I felt at times she had been the sleeping princess, and Jim the lonely traveler wishing to find love. It was both beautiful and horrifying in the whole scheme of things.

What I Didn’t Like

The movie does start out slow, and as I said, when going into it thinking it was more action than romance, that can be a bit upsetting. However, it doesn’t stay slow, and Chris Pratt never fails to be funny. He is almost always a joy to watch.

I wasn’t a big fan of the ship. To me, it looked like it would be easy to break and impractical for long distance space travel. Though it was a beautiful design, I think they focused too much on appearances and not enough of actual practicality.

While the lack of a large cast helped you get really involved in the two main characters, it also kept there from being any element of change in the movie. It was like watching a reality TV show with two very normal people. Though both characters brought a lot to the storyline, I think adding a few other people would have rounded out the storyline a little better. While Laurence Fishburne joined the movie near the end as one of the crew, his role was short and fleeting. The only other main character was Arthur, the bartender-cyborg, who gave the other two characters a sounding board for telling their stories.

My Overall

Overall, I enjoyed the movie, but it isn’t something I would watch again and again. I’m glad to have seen it, but there wasn’t enough to it to bring me back for more. I would give it an overall score of 7/10.

If you would like to read more of my reviews, check out my page here! As always, if you are so led, feel free to send me a gift, and thank you for reading!