PANDORUM

Starring:
Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue and Cung Le

Director:
Christian Alvart

Running Time:
108 mins

Out to buy on Blu-Ray/DVD 15/02/10

• Fantastic set design
• Successfully provides plenty jumpy, creepy moments
• Good performances from the cast

• Not very original
• Could be a little too gory for some

"This is pandorum"

With Earth’s population passing twenty-four billion in the mid-22nd Century, there are not enough resources to support the ever growing populous. When an Earth like planet is discovered, the biggest starship ever built sets off on a one hundred and twenty-three journey to settle the planet. Something goes wrong and flight crew Five, Bower (Foster) and Paton (Quaid) are woken by the ship’s computer. They quickly realise that the ship’s reactor is about to go critical and they only have hours to stop it but they are not the only crew members awake and there is something else on the ship.

When it comes to making good science fiction horror there are certain templates that you can follow but can ‘Pandorum’ inject anything new into this genre?

The amalgamation of Sci-Fi and Horror has created some classic movies for both of the genres. Films like ‘The Thing’, ‘The Omega Man’, ‘The Fly’ and ‘Alien’ have defined the genre with movies like ‘I am Legend’, ‘Pitch Black’ and ‘Videodrome’ all pushing the genre on. Producer Paul W.S. Anderson is no stranger to the genre, been behind the ‘Resident Evil’ and ‘Alien vs. Predator’ movies but his latest offering has a lot in common with his picture from his past, ‘Event Horizon’.

Taking place in the mid-22nd century, the action takes place on a huge human starship carrying thousands of humans to colonise an Earth-like planet. With our planet’s resources running out and the population passing twenty-four billion, this is the chance of a new start for the human race but the planet is so far away that it is going to take one hundred twenty years to get there. With all the passengers in cryogenic stasis, the flight crews were awaken for two year work rotations but when flight team five are awoken early, they realise that something is wrong and something else has got on the ship. This isn’t the most original of plots, blending elements from ‘Alien’, ‘The Decent’, ‘The Thing’ and Anderson’s own ‘Event Horizon’ with the introduction of pandorum itself, which is a deep space sickness that drives you mad, but surprisingly it is still quite entertaining.

The reason for this is the performances of the good ensemble cast. Dennis Quaid has always been an actor of merit, even though he has appeared in some awful movies like ‘Yours, Mine and Ours’ and ‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra’. As Flight Commander Payton however, he is asked to spend a large amount of time battling his own demons and fears over pandorum until Cam Gigandet’s Gallo appears on the scene and the two are forced to face off for control of the ship. This is a good role for Quaid and a welcome return to science fiction for the actor. The main lead however is the always-excellent Ben Foster. More accustomed to playing the villainous, deranged roles as he did in ‘3:10 to Yuma’, ’30 Days of Night’ and ‘Alpha Dog’, this is a change of pace for the actor and a welcome one. As Bower, the flight technician charged with reactivating the ship’s reactor core, he has to take the fight to the mysterious, cannibalistic creatures that are running rampant on the ship and Foster really has fun with the role, showing that he can be a lead and not just a quirky supporting role. There are also good turns from German actress Antje Traue as Nadia and Cung Le as Manh.

‘Pandorum’ isn’t the most original science fiction horror movie to grace the silver screen but it is a decent one. While most of the ideas are taken from already established franchises and hit films from within the genre, ‘Pandorum’ does just enough to get you invested in the characters and the finale is original enough to satisfy your Sci-Fi enjoyment.