Passengers

This was a very well put together flick. The acting was great and the end gave me shivers and wet my eyes. Would say more but dont want to ruin it. Enjoy!

Since there was no publicity for this film, my expectations for it were pretty low.

It has a slow pace and at times things don't make sense, but they do as the story moves forward. You just have to give it time.

At times it doesn't quite work and in a way doesn't break much new ground, but Ann gives a low key performance that I liked.

And the film did make me think about my life and what it is like to deal with death in sudden fashion, like a plane crash. Don't think they'll be showing this one as an in-flight movie.

I've heard that Sony kept this film quiet so it wouldn't interfere with the Oscar buzz Ann Hathaway's getting for Rachel Getting Married. Which makes sense, but I feel bad for all the people that worked on the film. They must feel abandoned by the studio.

I enjoyed this movie, but you need to be wary about how it's being described as a drama- horror-thriller. It's far more a drama than thriller, and I can't think of any horror elements in it at all. I don't want to give any of the movie away, so I'd like to describe what might make it more likely that you'd enjoy it.

Passengers concentrates on character development and primarily on Claire Summer (Anne Hathaway), a therapist who suspects she's discovered a cover-up while treating the survivors of an airplane crash, but also deals with her awakening to the reality that she's sacrificed too much personal life for her career. Her loneliness is as important to this movie as the mystery she's trying to unravel.

I liked Hathaway in this role. I wouldn't normally have thought of her as playing the part of a professional woman with two Masters degrees, as she usually conveys beauty and warmth instead of intellect. However, she's portraying a young academic on her first real-world case and she's convincing when she spouts the predictable, psychobabble an inexperienced therapist would likely spout. I also liked her relationship with her mentor Perry (Andre Braugher). The only weakness in the film might be insufficient scenes exploring her loneliness. It's the reason she gets involved with Eric (Patrick Wilson) but it should have been set up better. I'm not sure we're entirely convinced she would have gotten involved with him. Her isolation from family and friends should have been developed more.

It's not a great movie, but I did enjoy it, and I don't find the complaints I've heard about the movie credible; that it's slow and derivative. North Americans have developed such short attention spans, "slow" often only means there's not a car crash every few minutes. Yes, it's derivative, but so is Eagle Eye, a film currently doing very well at the box-office, which is obscenely derivative, but it doesn't seem to bother anyone since it's loaded with car crashes and other mindless action. (Eagle Eye is also appallingly dumb!)

If you're looking for a drama with some elements of suspense which takes it's characters seriously, then I would recommend it.

I'd like to start off by saying I began watching this movie with a little suspicion, because I checked the ratings here and they weren't really high.

Well, my suspicion wasn't necessary. This movie isn't all about action, explosions and that sort of things. What is does have is a heart, it shows the bond between people and it explains why that bond takes place. Just not in a corny way, this is more of a mix between real-life personalities, suspension, and a big plot-twist at the end kind of like Hitchcock did back in the days. Just not that elaborate. Some comments on this movie say that it lacks originality, but what movie doesn't do that these days ? Almost everything has already been done over and over again.

As concerns the quality of acting, it's just good. Nothing more but certainly nothing less. It's nice to see Anne Hathaway play a different sort of role, besides comedy. Her co-star Patrick Wilson also performs on a high wire. Andre Braugher and David Morse are good at supporting roles and thats is simply what they did in this one. You can't say that the acting wasn't good, therefore I feel sorry that it hasn't been properly promoted because it would have had some potential to getting to be a popular movie.

Conclusion: Like I said in the beginning, it's good, just not a masterpiece. I suggest you watch it and go with the flow, you won't regret it.

Though there are similarities in this film to others, ie... not completely original... it is a very good, very touching movie. It has its moments of intensity, its greatness in the acting and directing. Its not a classic, but with all of the mediocre works that are out there to take your money, this is one that would NOT be a waste of your time.

I would highly recommend this film if you are into suspense, drama, intrigue of any nature.

There are certain aspects that are left open, but so minor that it doesn't distract from the impact of the movie.

All in all -- a very good watch.

6 out of 10