Europa Report (2013)
This is another in a string of interesting movies that make space real and a bit gritty. I'm not thinking so much of "Gravity" which does that in a super slick way, but movies like "Moon" and others for all their flaws. There's something really appealing about being out there somewhere and having it feel not like a fantasy (there are lots and lots of those movies) but a realistic place. Fiction, but realistic.
And at times "Europa Report" is brilliant. Sometimes fascinating, quite well acted, and sometimes a bit awkward in the story line and script, we are drawn into this spaceship as if we might be one of the crew. Landing on a moon of Jupiter in a search for life, this crew has to do hands-on tests to see if there are traces of organic activity.
Right away, however, things go wrong, even before getting to their target. This adds suspense, for sure, though it doesn't quite seem realistic as it grinds on. What does seem realistic is the acting, so you swallow the improbable plot and the unlikely decisions (and the clumsy dialog) and go with the expressive angst, humor, and straight up traits of the actors.
Eventually the low budget bones of the enterprise really force the issue. (It's a shame but understandable that movies about spaceships, from "Plan 9" to "Marooned," are awful partly because the set and setting requirements are so extreme. This one was shot entirely in Brooklyn.) When the ship lands on the moon and they start to make measurements, the reactions and the special effects are slim. To a large extent, everything alien and weird is shown through video monitors (the whole movie is actually a recording of sorts being viewed after the fact), and so obscurity becomes normal and expected.
This kind of avoidance of the real effects and real dangers occurs in other spots where the power keeps going off, then coming on, then going off. So naturally things happen in the dark and they don't have to show us. The problem with this short cut is you don't quite get sucked in. And since you're already slightly put off by the clunky edges here and there, it drags the movie down.
However, all those reservations said, it was still watchable. And enjoyable. Again, the overall premise holds water, and the acting, gritty and plain as it is, works well.
This is another in a string of interesting movies that make space real and a bit gritty. I'm not thinking so much of "Gravity" which does that in a super slick way, but movies like "Moon" and others for all their flaws. There's something really appealing about being out there somewhere and having it feel not like a fantasy (there are lots and lots of those movies) but a realistic place. Fiction, but realistic.
And at times "Europa Report" is brilliant. Sometimes fascinating, quite well acted, and sometimes a bit awkward in the story line and script, we are drawn into this spaceship as if we might be one of the crew. Landing on a moon of Jupiter in a search for life, this crew has to do hands-on tests to see if there are traces of organic activity.
Right away, however, things go wrong, even before getting to their target. This adds suspense, for sure, though it doesn't quite seem realistic as it grinds on. What does seem realistic is the acting, so you swallow the improbable plot and the unlikely decisions (and the clumsy dialog) and go with the expressive angst, humor, and straight up traits of the actors.
Eventually the low budget bones of the enterprise really force the issue. (It's a shame but understandable that movies about spaceships, from "Plan 9" to "Marooned," are awful partly because the set and setting requirements are so extreme. This one was shot entirely in Brooklyn.) When the ship lands on the moon and they start to make measurements, the reactions and the special effects are slim. To a large extent, everything alien and weird is shown through video monitors (the whole movie is actually a recording of sorts being viewed after the fact), and so obscurity becomes normal and expected.
This kind of avoidance of the real effects and real dangers occurs in other spots where the power keeps going off, then coming on, then going off. So naturally things happen in the dark and they don't have to show us. The problem with this short cut is you don't quite get sucked in. And since you're already slightly put off by the clunky edges here and there, it drags the movie down.
However, all those reservations said, it was still watchable. And enjoyable. Again, the overall premise holds water, and the acting, gritty and plain as it is, works well.