Overture Films | USA/Germany | 108 mins
Pandorum is a very poor man’s Alien. A similar scenario, but handled in the worst case possible with no profound ideas. It is a typical cliched sci-fi horror film with very few redeeming qualities. It may not be the worst film of the year, but it’s definitely up there. This is an underwhelming experience to science fiction and horror fans alike.
After astronaut Bower (Ben Foster) wakes up from in a sleeping chamber on an abandoned space ship, he has no relocation of what year it is and what happened to the other crew members. After waking up his lieutenant, Payton (Dennis Quaid), he begins a hunt to find out what has happened to the ship. After Bower searchers the ship he realizes him and Payton aren’t alone. He soon has to deal with kill thirsty creatures who heavily outnumber the remaining members on the ship, soon finding a group of survivors on the ship who all decide to ban together to survive.
Nothing original is to be found in this run-of-the-mill monster movie. The paper thin story-line is strung together by a countless number of action set pieces. That being said, the action is not near enough of a distraction as most of the running time is consumed of characters walking around and delivering hammy exposition. This completely avoids the idea of ambiguity and instead goes for pandering introduction/explanation. Every plot twist (and there are plenty) comes off laughable. Whenever the film isn’t divulging in sloppily-handled action scenes it shifts to horrible storytelling cliches. None of the twists and turns are surprising, most of them are also unnecessary. The first act is the only decent part of the story. It’s interesting to see Bower wake up unaware of his past and location; an intriguing idea that ends up half-baked and wasted.
Pandorum could have slid by at being at least a decent action film, but the film even falters in that area. These sequences are incomprehensible and terribly cut together. The scenes feature numerous jump cuts and a bombastic score void of any thrills. It doesn’t help that the creatures lack in originality and menace. They certainly do have a creepy appearance, but are mindless and generic villains. Antagonists of their kind can be found in most average horror films being made today. One aspect that the film actually delivers genuine moments of enjoyment is a few of the set pieces. The production design is actually impressive at times and even distracting, as it helps us forget the terrible story, if only for a moment.
The cast includes two highly respectable actors Dennis Quaid (The Big Easy) and Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma) who are unfortunately stuck in thankless roles. Foster has proven himself capable of being successful in lackluster films before (see 30 Days of Night) but his role is too poorly written for him to make for a respectable lead. For most of the film he just runs around and spouting laughable dialogue. The same goes for Quaid, who is over-directed and plays the most useless character. (MINOR SPOILERS) The third act is where his character gets even worse with a predictable twist surrounding him is beyond unnecessary. The only bright spot in the cast is Antje Traue, who makes for a respectable action heroine. Traue doesn’t have an evolving character arc or the most inspiring dialogue, but her great onscreen presence is fun to watch.
With a decent concept and a mildly watchable first act, this should have been better. Instead it is a silly and unoriginal genre film that will soon be forgotten. There are only a few aspects that hold Pandorum back from being truly terrible, such as Traue’s performances, a few unique money shots and a decent production design. In the end, this nothing more than a disappointment considering the talent involved and the fact that this just one hundred and eight minutes of conventional boredom.