Passengers Film

Then, wonder no more! No, I’m not giving away any spoilers, but I thought this film was full of plot, and a weak storyline. If you were one of the movie-goer’s who were lured by the trailer, and were wondering the same question, let me shed some light from a Fan’s Film Analysis POV.

While the film was not great on “story,” the film does pay homage to several strong themes, such as Stanley Kubrick’s classical masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey. While I won’t let you sit and watch 2001, there are a lot of pre-vis effects that I liked about Passengers. The premise was a good one, and the story plays out for the most part, except there were several inconsistencies about how the ending was delivered, based on what the character dialogue indicated. For example, there is one other passenger who is also “awakened” during the film. Some of this character’s dialogue lends me to believe that there was another backstory that never played out in the Final Cut.

Another strong theme were Adam and Eve roles. Adam giving life to Eve, the rib (circuit board), which bears a resemblance to 2001’s HAL-9000 circuit board being removed by Keir Dullea’s character.

Another plus to this film is that it could have also have been performed on-stage, as there are only a handful of performers. Having not spoken with the producer, director or screenwriter, I can’t really render an opinion about the film backgrounder or the film’s original intent. Which, believe it or not, can change direction based on a number of business decisions (aka “What sells!”).

Yes, sex sells. And portrayed on the big screen, digitally, there is nothing that the world cannot see.

So, yes, there is a half-naked backside shower scene with Chris Pratt. He’s just come out of “hibernation.” Yes, this scene elicited a long “Hmmmm…” response from the mostly female audience. <and, Ms. Faris, if you are reading this, you are one *lucky* lady to be Chris’ wife!> And, don’t tell me it’s the makeup or the editing that makes you look that great! <okay, maybe the angle being filmed at and some editing…>

During another scene on Aurora and Jim’s date, where she shimmies out of her dress, kicks the dress sexily with high heels across the floor towards him, and he gulps. No date pressure here, huh?

So, this is definitely a film that gets the romance going, as witnessed by the teenage couple making out, at the end of my row. This will teach me a lesson on attending a matinee with Reclined leather seating! I wonder what else has been on my seat BP (Before Pam). Some of the other post-Film comments on Jennifer’s performance included “I don’t care. She’s really hot!” <Mr. Aronsky, you are also a lucky man to be dating Ms. Lawrence>

What’s interesting to note, is that Jennifer Lawrence received top billing over Chris Pratt. Of course, Chris is suddenly the new Keir Dullea.

She is definitely a great looking actress, and has been a favorite of mine for a while now.Some of her recent work includes:

• X-Men series as Raven.
• Joy.
• The Hunger Games series as Katniss Everdeen.
• Silver Linings Playbook as Tiffany.

Some upcoming projects include:

• Mother – in PostProd.
• Red Sparrow – as Dominika Egorova.Currently Filming.
• Zelda – just Announced.Producing and starring as Zelda Fitzgerald.
• 4 projects in scripting phase.
• 1 in Treatment stage.
• 1 project in the Option stage, with Jennifer as Director.

This actor has been very busy. It seems like The Magnificent Seven has just finished its theatrical showing and was released this week in DVD-BluRay in retail stores, and Passengers makes its debut a few weeks prior. And, he will be appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy 2, due out in theatres on May 5^th, 2017.

Some of his yet-to-be-released work includes:

• Avengers: Infinity War, due out in 2018, playing Peter Quill (Star-Lord).
• He has two films in various stages of production: The Real McCoy, and Cowboy Ninja Viking.
• Jurassic World sequel as Owen. This film is in Pre-production. Should be good!

As a fan, I often wondered where did Chris come from? SO wonder no more! Grab yourself a copy of the latest issue of Vanity Fair and read the story on how Chris got his Hollywood start. Remember this: Producers are your best friend, and most of them eat at restaurants, where Chris was the waiter. Nuff said. The rest is history.

I thought the space scene was great adventure. When was the last time that I had seen a good time in a spacesuit?

Some of the zero gravity scenes were really good. I always wondered what different elements would look like if there was a loss of gravity. Thank you to the Visualization department.

The wardrobe and costuming was also good. I really liked the futuristic look for Aurora and Jim. Makeup and hair departments definitely win my “Thumbs Up!” Ms. Lawrence’s hair was great throughout the film, and it was a nice touch towards the ending, where she’s helping Arthur “fix his face.”

The set design was huge, albeit utilitarian. After all, this is the future.

This was my first time attending Mahalo Tuesdays. I really like this theatre, as it is the only Titan XC theatre on Oahu. While I had purchased a second ticket to see Rogue One: a Star Wars Story, I was not able to see it, due a water main breakage that had occurred up-the-street, during my viewing of Passengers. My Rogue One ticket was to be viewed in 3-D Titan Luxe, the latest theatre re-model in town. Just like trying to catch the tether on a disappearing jumpsuit in ZeroG, Rogue One will have to wait until next week.

For both tickets, I also was asked to assign my seating. In the Reclined Reserved seating, you get to pick your seat in advance, or when purchasing your ticket pre-show at the Box Office. I was in the second row for Passengers.

What I really appreciated was the Free Value Combo ticket, which automatically prints out at the Box Office. This is a $15.00 value, with a food upgrade costing $3.00. The Free Value Combo (FV Combo code) is a small popcorn (85 oz), bottomless small soft drink (21 oz), and a choice of Nestle candy. The $3.00 food upgrade consisted of a Nachos chips or a Regular length Hotdog. I chose the Hotdog upgrade.

Which brings up a point about hotdogs. Apparently, there are 2 different types of hotdogs served on Mahalo Tuesdays. The $2 hotdog special is a shorter hotdog, that fits nicely inside the one-size only bun. The $3 upgraded FV combo is the longer length hotdog, which hung over both edges of the yellow sweet bun. Talk about not eating anything else for the remainder of the day.

Their popcorn has a salt shaker at the Self-Service counter, which is plain yummy. Period. I ate almost half of the 85 oz. bag. And if you know me, I skip the butter.

I also appreciated the Manager of the Day, who was very nice about refunding everyone’s ticket, due to the water main breakage. Hey, the email alert came at 10:30am, when everyone was already tucked away in their theatre seats, and the management let us stay for the entire flick. It could have very well have been Theatre Interruptus! <then I would have missed the on-screen action>

As always, stay tuned for the next film review.