"... Bad day to be an engineer fresh out of cryo."
Creepy claustrophobic spaces, dark passages churning with menacing sounds, temporary amnesia clouding your every judgment, a dame with a dirty blade jumpin' you every chance she gets, cannibalistic creatures populating every facet of open space... And that's all just when you wake up. Bad day to be an engineer fresh out of cryo.
Hot on the Prawn heels of District 9, Pandorum finally makes its appearance after a host of trailers, brilliant ad campaigns and a rather brief---though rather smart---delay (it was supposed to come out with the apparent bomb that was Jennifer's Body). Despite taking cues from such sci-fi extravaganzas as Event Horizon (it was even produced by Paul W.S. Anderson), Pitch Black, Alien: Resurrection, Ghosts of Mars and obviously Dead Space, Pandorum still manages to develop a story all its own via a consistently compelling survival-horror-like pacing, gritty visuals and yet another engaging performance by Ben Foster.
After a sudden wake-up from cryo-sleep, Bower (Ben Foster) finds he's completely alone on a dust-covered ship, drained of power. Panicked, disoriented and fatigued, Bower finds slight solace when his leading officer Payton (Dennis Quaid) suddenly comes to and is dropped out of his armored shell like a newborn baby. Now, both of them must learn what happened to the rest of the crew, energize the ship to full capacity and survive the horrors yet to come. Now, that might seem blasé, but that's when the aspect of "Pandorum" comes into play and adds a whole other element of terror and narrative that would have otherwise been lacking. Actually, this interstellar disease is what truly allows this film to become its own beast---separating it from the previous films (and game) that it so blatantly looks up to.
One of my biggest worries with Pandorum is that the first thought that popped into my head when the trailer began rolling was: Dead Space---this looks like Dead Space. Now, despite the fact that this really didn't hinder my yearning to see it, it nonetheless worried me that it was just going to be a rip-off. I mean, the environments were extremely similar, both lead characters (Bower and Isaac) are engineers, both have sudden flashbacks as to the whereabouts of their love interests, both wield energy-like gauntlets... Hell, even perceptive viewers might even pick up on a certain aesthetic quality herein that resembles Isaac's signature mining helmet. The comparisons are definitely there---even a plot point almost had me wincing from the similarity. Thankfully, even with all of these correlating characteristics, I'm happy to report that Pandorum is not Dead Space. Nor is it Event Horizon. Nor is Ghosts of Mars. Nor is it Alien Resurrection. It's apparent where Alvart has acquired ideas, but he and co-writer Travis Milloy have applied their own twisted vision to the mix, offering something a little new to go along with all of the old.
As I've already hinted at above, Pandorum's biggest strength is... Well, Pandorum itself. It's a nasty bit of paranoia, suspicion and twitch which screws just as much with the characters as it does the viewer. While it doesn't play as much of a role during the first portion of the film, it becomes a big contender during the second. And while this might sound bad given the title and all, Alvart has done an excellent job pacing the film with the dilemma at hand. While the focus of Pandorum is larger during the second half, the build-up to it during the first is perfectly paced as it poses the question of the mental conflict through verbal and visual expressions. By doing this in such a way, Alvart allows us to understand the possibility of Pandorum, all the while maintaining a consistent interest in the literally monstrous conflict at hand. To summarize, neither the creature feature or the Pandorum qualities are constantly stuffed down the audience's throat---both are properly balanced as a single story, one never seeming to overburden the other. While I do wish that we had been given more glimpses of the surreal imagery that Pandorum was possibly capable of (as witnessed on the excellent poster work: multiple faces on one head screaming, tubes and what-not pouring out of a cadaver's mouth and eyes), what Alvart has chosen to depict and do with the disease still works quite well, especially when the viewer adds some thought as to what the victim is actually going through.
And about those victims... We get a handful of 'em here, and for the most part, everyone carries their role exceptionally well---especially Ben Foster. Aside from this being a science fiction film, the other sole reason I wanted to see this movie was because of him. To me, Ben Foster is one of the most professional, most mature, most dedicated, most underrated actors of this generation. Back in the day, my sister and watched him (along with Serenity's/Firefly's mechanic chic) on the Disney show "Flash Forward", but then... He kind of just seemed to fall off of the cinematic map. After his apparent work on some lesser known movies, Mr. Foster came right back with roles in The Punisher, Hostage, 30 Days of Night, 3:10 to Yuma, 11:14 and Alpha Dog (in which he was the ONLY redeeming quality)---each time playing a role that was either more or just as inspired as the one before it. This is an actor that doesn't sell out, but picks roles that he knows he can truly make something of. He's not a damn Zach Efron or an Ashton Kutcher or any other young, hip actor you can name, he doesn't star in films whose main purpose is to make him look hotter and cooler---Ben Foster is an example of a young actor doing something because he has a passion for it, not the publicity. That said, I couldn't be happier that Foster has taken a lead role (that's a protagonist for a change). And just as his previous efforts, he's managed to give his character life and personality through both physical and spoken language. What's even better is that his performance becomes all the more engrossing with the consistent application of Pandorum without ever feeling like it's over-the-top. Pretty much, massive props to Foster for doing yet another captivating role.
And while Foster's role is by far the most stand-out, acclaim should also be given to Eddie Rouse who portrays a quirky, gravel-throated cook with some humorously quick dialogue. Relating to Alien Resurrection, his performance reminded me of Dominique Pinon's wheelchair bound mercenary---which is a very good thing because I dig that actor as well. Really, Michael Bay should think about taking a page out of Pandorum's book when it comes to non-stereotyped black characters. He might learn a thing or two. As for the rest of the cast, Dennis Quaid---despite all of the flack he's been getting recently---manages to pull his performance in the direction of Horsemen, rather than G.I. Joe. Even though Horsemen was a typical straight-to-DVD thriller, Quaid honestly did give it his all, offering up a surprisingly strong amount of emotion to a story which desperately needed it. Actually, now that I think about it, his role here is equivalent to that of his character in Enemy Mine, meaning: it's good. When it comes down to it, the only problem I had with him is in regards to some line-delivery towards the end which could have been aided by some more intensity and power. Then again, this is something Alvart should have pushed for and really shouldn't fall on Quaid's shoulders because of that negligence. The remaining actors such as Antje Traue, Cam Gigandet, Cung Le, and Norman Reedus (Boondock Saints) all pull-off their roles just fine, but I felt as though the above labeled were the most meaningful.
After the performances, the next-standout quality here is the set-design within the brilliantly conceptualized ship itself. Once again, this is a concoction of all of the previously labeled films, except with an extra layer of grit and grime added to it. The work invested into the environment has definitely paid off as it forces feelings of fear and terror through its confined and even open spaces. Furthering all of this, is the utilization of light and darkness. Here, cinematography shines as characters will sometimes be lit by a single well-placed light which adds to the overall sense of loneliness and desperation without smothering the screen in complete black. What's even better is that the lighting even changes depending on the location. I know that sounds like a, "Well duh" statement, but the film takes on different looks depending on where the characters are at a given time. One scene is bathed in an ominous red glow, another has a green sheen to it, and another is enveloped in a pristine white which juxtaposes the violent and heavily shaded area the protagonists just exited from. Despite the sudden changes in color and lighting---like the pacing---it's handled in a consistent manner, and thus only adds to the overall visual presentation.
And when it comes to the tension, sound design has done an exquisite job of screwing with heads. Cries in the dark, screams, steel scraping on steel, metal bending, the crack of a glow stick, etcetera---it's all exceptionally well done. But what really hammers it all home is the application of Michl Britsch's musical composition alongside it all. The screeching and grinding guitar chords and mild techno-ish beats combined with tribal drumming, help to create an industrialized score akin to what Charlie Clouser did for the Saw series, or what John Murphy did for Danny Boyle's Sunshine.
When it comes to qualms, some revelations feel as if they could have been handled a tad better. While the shock of certain scenes were definitely there, I feel Alvart could have executed them with a bit more immediacy in order to add a better sense of urgency to the matter at hand. That, and when some of the pay-offs come, some questionable qualities come into play---I wouldn't call them plot holes---but they are points of which I would have appreciated some more clarity on. Aside from this, the only real thing I could have done without is some of the sped-up animation to the monsters which seemed to have been applied to make them appear more threatening. Seriously, when it takes three people just to fight one, I really don't think you have to do that.
It took me a while to remember who Christian Alvart was as I sat and watched Pandorum. I had seen one of his German films a while back entitled "Antibodies" which I finally remembered when I noticed three of its lead actors (counting Boondock Saint's Norman Reedus) in extremely small roles here. Taking that into consideration, it's not surprise that Alvart has co-written yet another horror film delving into the mentality of terror---not so much the visualization of it (though, be it noted that Pandorum and Antibodies are FAR different films... Antibodies being far more disturbing for one). And on that, I think Alvart is definitely showing his talent. Overall, Pandorum didn't blow me away by any means, but it contained all of the right ingredients for an incredibly enjoyable film. While I retain some small issues here and there and while I still believe there to be some content that wasn't pushed as much as it could have been, Alvart and co. have definitely made a compelling space romp that works to its strengths and provides a thrilling getaway for those of us who have waited patiently for the next R-rated space odyssey.
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