Passengers: What works and what doesn’t?
I make movies, so naturally I also think a lot about movies. I usually just rant about what’s good or bad about a movie I’ve just seen to my girlfriend or post a few lines on Facebook. But I believe that as a filmmaker, one of the best ways to learn is to analyse the movies I watch and try to figure out what worked well, and what didn’t.
So I’ve decided to start writing down my thoughts on Medium. Maybe someone else finds them interesting, but either way it makes me sit down and think about the movies I’ve seen. First up… Passengers!
SPOILER WARNING
The following text contains spoilers for the plot of Passengers.
What did I think?
I enjoyed Passengers. It’s an entertaining movie with a very interesting premise and a solid story. I’m one of the few people who enjoyed screenwriter Jon Spaith’s previous sci-fi film Prometheus and I’m a big fan of Norwegian director Morten Tyldum after both Headhunters and The Imitation Game, so I was looking forward to see Passengers.
What had me a little worried was that Columbia Pictures decided to cast not one, but two of the most bankable stars right now — Jennifer Lawrence AND Chris Pratt, signaling that the studio was hoping for a lot of ticket sales and making a movie for the big masses.
For me, Passengers ended up being a pretty good movie that could have been a lot better.
What worked well?
The premise about a man who is faced with the moral dilemma of deciding to wake someone up from cryosleep or spend the rest of his days alone is smart. The movie never frames the decision as something good, but builds drama surrounding the moral conflict of both characters. For that reason I don’t agree with the negative criticism of the story’s driving plot point, since the movie actually handles the moral question like something terrible that the characters now have to deal with.
The movie is well made in many regards. Directing is okay. Set design is amazing and the VFX is believably realistic. There are just a few too many things which just could have been a bit better…
What didn’t work so well, and why?
The biggest problem with Passengers is the constant over-explanation and the tone of the film. It’s quite apparent that Columbia was intent on making a movie that was appealing to the largest audience possible, trying to make it fun, bright and shiny.
I buy that the spaceship looks luxurious but I think Morten Tyldum and DOP Rodrigo Prieto made a fatal mistake by also making the cinematography of the film so perfect. Everything is well lit, sharp and high contrast.
I actually think that if they had shot the movie with older lenses adding a bit of imperfection and more shallow depth of field, combined with a less contrasty look in the color grading, the film would have felt less perfect and glossy. It might not make every image look like a magazine cover, but it would have added a feeling of grounded realism that the movie very much lacks.
The way the movie is constantly holding the audience by the hand, over-explaining everything so the studio can be 100% certain nothing will confuse anyone in the audience, makes it too obvious instead.
One scene in particular where the characters find a broken reactor they need to fix is essentially built on ADR lines that explain the scene. It becomes apparent when all the lines are said when we see the back of each actor’s head so we can’t see that they are actually not saying those lines in the footage they shot on set. The ADR lines are something along the lines of “I think we have found it” “It’s the reactor” “It’s the reason for all the problems we have faced” “We have to fix it, otherwise we will die”.
It’s important that the audience understand the plot, but when the movie assumes the audience is stupid, the movie feels stupid instead.
Both Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence are okay in the movie, though none of them spectacular. Lawrence in particular feels a bit disinterested in the movie she’s in. Casting two super famous actors might sell tickets, but I think the movie would have been more believable if at least one of them was a bit more unknown. Now it just feels like seeing Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence in a very expensive play set in space. I never truly believe the characters to be real.
One of the biggest problems with Passengers for me is the music. Did you notice how similar it sounds to Pixar’s Wall-e? That’s because it’s the same composer — Thomas Newman. The sound of Newman’s score is fine, but the music is overdramatic, going huge when ever there is a dramatic or scary moment. The pulsating beat helps create tension but becomes repetitive. I also feel the score plays the wrong emotions at many times. Scenes that needed to feel emotional or scary got music that signaled that exciting action was underway. I’m usually a fan of Newman, but the score for Passengers just doesn’t work.
I was also surprised that after showing how great he is at constructing a serious drama in The Imitation Game, Morten Tyldum gave the tone of Passengers so much levity. There’s nothing wrong with fun, but Passengers would have benefitted from a more toned down approach.
I haven’t read the Passengers screenplay, so I can’t say if the issues with over-exposition and clichés are in the script, but as filmmakers we have to be aware that most of our audience have seen a lot of movies before. They have probably even seen the same movies we’ve been inspired by and if they’ve seen something once, they will expect it again. Passengers could have played against those expectations and surprised the audience, but instead it gave me exactly what I expected and very few surprises.
All in all, it was an entertaining movie, but I just can’t help to wonder how much better it could have been if the studio and filmmakers took a few more risks when making it.
