Pandorum is a new horror / sci fi film produced by
Paul W. Anderson and Constantin Films. Same group that brought us other
horror movies like the Resident Evil series, Skin Walkers, and Wrong
Turn. The movie is set far into the future with a couple of crew members
on a space transport ship that awaken from their hyper sleep a little
confused. Bower (Ben Foster) is the first to wake up. He remembers very
little, and at first thinks he is all alone. Then Payton (Dennis Quaid)
awakens from his hyper sleep. Together they are trying to put together
anything that will help them figure out where they are and whats going
on. Things don’t start off easy for them especially when the main power
is down throughout most of the ship.
With Payton working the computers, Bower sets off to
try and restore power to the rest of the ship. He soon finds out that
they aren’t the only two out walking around. And confirms it when he
encounters a corpse hanging from the ceiling, as result of a very lethal
trap. I don’t know about anyone else. If I came up to a corpse crudely
hanging from the ceiling, and then hear some inhuman scream further
down. My ass is NOT going to be investigating. But, it wouldn’t be fun
for us then would it? Because the source of the scream is not pretty.
But, it makes up for being ugly by being very fast, very strong, and
very hungry. And, it didn’t come alone either.
Not too far into the movie Bower and Payton put
together more memories and the purpose of their mission. The Earth’s
resources have been soaked up and they are the flight crew taking 16,000
passengers to their new home. A new Earth-like planet called Tanis.
Bower encounters others fighting to stay alive. Manh (Cung Le), the
foreign badass who can’t speak a word of English, very useful to have
around though since he is very handy with his makeshift blades. Nadia
(Antje Traue) plays the sexy female lead who, for the ships scientist,
is no stranger to kicking butt. When they all meet up with Leland, they
get more questions than answers. How long have they been in hyper sleep?
What are those things hunting them? And, how are they all going to
survive?
Pandorum plays out well with very few slow spots. It
does take a little while to get a feel for everything that’s going on in
the movie though. At first I was thinking its got a good amount of plot
holes. But, a little flashback here and there. And through the
characters of the movie, it starts to straighten out. I liked how this
was done. It bordered on predictable, however, every time I thought I’ve
seen this before I was proven wrong. I am surprised that the $40 million
budget didn’t get put to better use though. I don’t know what they used
it all on. The special effects where pretty good. And, I really don’t
think that any of these actors require a huge salary. It just seems kind
of high for a non theatrical release. I guess I don’t make them though.
I just watch them.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Pandorum is a great ride. Its almost like a combination Ghosts of Mars
and Paul Anderson’s other sci-fi / horror, Event Horizon. It was nice to
see some good character background, making a solid story instead of a
brainless gore fest. Which I think we see too much of already. The story
unfolded well with twists, turns, and it keeps you wondering what the
hell is going on. I hate movies that I can sit down and watch 20 mins
into, and know what’s going to happen in the end. Pandorum doesn’t disappoint.
