Oxygène

The good: The plot/promise is simple, but the movie does a lot with a little. The engaging performance of the lead coupled with a trickle feed of twists and turns help the movie clip along at a brisk pace considering the very limited set pieces. The movie doesn't try to subvert expectations of the genre and just plays to its strengths, based off its premise/hook.

The bad: The movie does broach some meaty subject matter but does absolutely nothing with it. I don't blame the creators but don't expect any poignant introspects into the human psyche. This movie plays it straight and narrow. I also have to call out some logic/plot holes which are obviously there to push the story forward (create conflict) but took me out of the film.

Should you watch it: Lately, I'm leaning more towards shorter movies as I dislike scenes that are superfluous and add nothing to the film but a bloated runtime. This is not one of those movies. At just over 1.5 hours the movie concludes satisfactorily and is a decent enough trip for those who are fans of the mystery/sci fi genre.

As this film opens a woman wakes in an airtight medical cryogenic chamber. She has no idea who she is or how she got there... or even where 'there' is. The unit is controlled by an artificial intelligence called MILO; this informs her that due to an unspecified problem she is rapidly running out of oxygen. If she is to survive she will have to recover enough of her memories to learn about the situation she is in... and avoid some of MILO's attempts to make her little remaining time more comfortable.

Going into this film I'd say the less you know the better; there are some good twists and it is best one learns facts at the same time as our protagonist. The film is, apart from a few brief flashbacks, set almost entirely within the cramped pod; this gives an impressively claustrophobic feel to proceedings. The more we learn the greater the sense of hopelessness. Mélanie Laurent does a really fine job as our protagonist; you can feel both her anguish, fear and occasional optimism as situations change. The inside of the pod is well designed; large enough for some movement but not enough for full movement. Overall a solid film for sci-fi fans who don't demand lots of action.

These comments are based on watching the film in French with English subtitles.

Making a name for himself in the horror field with the likes of High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes, Piranha 3D and Crawl, French director Alexandre Aja takes a different route with his newest outing Oxygen, with this Netflix acquired claustrophobic thriller a more dialed back affair for the boundary pushing director who even showcases a much softer side to himself than his shown previously.

Taking the Buried/Devil approach to proceedings as we spend Oxygen's 100 minute runtime confined to a life supporting medical pod with Melanie Laurent's Liz, who has awoken with no memories of who she is or how she came to be stuck in the pod with a quickly dwindling supply of air, Aja's well-filmed ride may not always be the pulse-pounding thriller it wants to be but thanks to some inventive directing and a committed leading lady, this sweat inducing ride will keep you engaged throughout.

Starting off relatively slowly, with us and Liz trying to figure things out and wondering why we should care for her plight to survive with nothing more than an A. I computer known as MILO to help her, Oxygen does start to ramp things up around the half way mark with more knowledge about what is going on and how Liz came to be found in such a predicament helping the film out in a big way as we all of a sudden start to ride every bump and fall with Liz as her oxygen dwindles and her quest to survive feels more pressing with every passing second.

With strong visuals (and a scene that will go down as one of the years best as we catch a glimpse of Liz's external surrounds), a great score by Robin Coudert and some neat little horror throwbacks from its director, Oxygen feels like a polished and professional offering and a level above other similar Netflix released offerings, ensuring that its high concept idea is bought to life in a strong and satisfying way.

It's not too say the film is able to reach the highs of some of its other similar counterparts, there are numerous moments where the film feels bogged down by repetitive situations and stretches of unengaging scenarios but despite not being able to reach grand heights, Oxygen is a thriller worth checking out and a nice example of Alexandre Aja trying his hand at something a little different from his usual staple.

Final Say -

Ramping up in its latter stages and featuring a great central turn from its leading lady, Oxygen is a solid thriller that might not grip you through its entirety but has enough solid moments to make it worth your time.

3 lab rats out of 5.

Oxygen might be Alexandre Aja's best movie to date.

It's a one man show, or in this case, a one woman show, as Melanie Laurent delivers a performance worthy of praise as an amnesiac who awakens in a cryopod and tries to figure out how she got there and how she can escape with the help of the AI assisstant MILO. The movie's plot is reminiscent of Buried, starring Ryan Reynolds, only this time we're dealing with a high-concept idea that cannot be mentioned without spoiling the movie.

What I liked the most about this movie is that throughout its entire runtime, it never once loses steam and is able to hold the attention of the viewer. Although it's set almost entirely in one location, the script always finds ingenious elements to keep the plot going and oftentimes it reaches that nail-biting tension the viewers expect from a sci-fi thriller like this.

Melanie Laurent is entirely up to task and she carries this movie effortlessly. Her character's discoveries about her past, present and future offer moments that showcase her immense talent of making us care for a character that we, like the character itself, know nothing about.

The direction from Alexandre Aja is never boring and he uses smart camera tricks to maintain tension and suspense. There's always a sense of engagement with the plot that Aja crafts masterfully, although some plot reveals are a little bit convenient and they come exactly when you expect them to.

Overall, I thought Oxygen benefits from an inventive and well-written script, Aja's tight direction, and of course, Melanie Laurent's performance, who carries the entire movie on her shoulders.

What I loved about this movie was the uncertainty of where the movie was going to. Where is the pod? Who is she? Will she get out? It makes you committed to keep watching! This movie reminded me of the movie 'Cube' another brilliant movie!