Movie Breakdown: Voyagers
Pre-Screening Stance:
Neil Burger is very good at directing OK movies (see: The Illusionist, Limitless, Divergent), so that’s pretty much my expectation level heading into Voyagers.
Post-Screening Ramble:
For a while now I’ve seen Voyagers described as “Lord Of The Flies in space” and that’s actually pretty accurate. Although, it certainly is much more YA, as its cast of kids are supposed to be in their late teens or possibly early 20s? That part wasn’t exactly clear. In any case, Earth is dying, so a group of lab-created kids are sent on an 86-year mission to a new planet that’s believed to be suitable for human life. The plan is for the initial group to procreate, then their kids will as well, and so on and so forth until the ship reaches its destination with what’s sure to be a very odd mix of really old and young people. To make sure this crazy trip gets off to a good start, there’s Richard (Colin Farrell), a man I can only describe as a space dad. He gives advice and orders and – most importantly – makes sure the youths drink the Blue, an emotion-suppressing concoction disguised as a healthy beverage. If you ask me, this seems like the shakiest possible setup for the mission – why did anyone think the crew of manufactured geniuses wouldn’t find out about the secret drug? – and it quickly turns out to be exactly that when the space dad dies. Right away, the kids quit the Blue and then the ship becomes a house of sex and violence. They also divide into two rival groups, but because they’re on a set trip with nowhere else to go, the mission statement for each one boils down to either working on a set schedule or whenever is personally preferable. Yes, it’s laughably lame, but these people are also scared by the space dad’s mysterious death, so they’re not thinking clearly. Additionally, they’re horny. And angsty. Look, I could go on forever about the core silliness of Voyagers, so I’ll just skip ahead and say this – the movie is OK. If you think about any of it, the whole thing falls apart. If you just blankly watch it though, it’s a mostly entertaining YA space flick in space. Your mileage may vary.
Voyagers is out this Friday, April 9.
One Last Thought:
The most unbelievable part of this movie is that people wouldn’t follow Tye Sheridan. I mean, just look at that extremely pouty face of his! And sure, it’s not the sort of face you want to see when shit hits the fan, but after all your friends are dead, it’ll be the most welcoming thing around.
