Pandorum

This piece does a wonderful job of adapting some of Lovecraft's lesser known but no less important works, including those focusing on evolution, social degradation, religion, duty, memory and the curious need for humans to do evil. The film quickly moves from standard space-horror fair (wake up from cryo, there's something aboard that shouldn't be), to a series of tense action sequences and engaging dialogue. The more abstract pieces of the story will be distracting to those who care more about plot than feeling, but the character work is vibrant, and the tone is despairing, without being grueling.

If you were disappointed by Promethus as much as I was, you'll enjoy this intellectual but unpretentious meditation on the future of humanity and its exploration of isolation and insanity.

I thought this movie did an excellent job of tapping into a number of deep-rooted fears that seem to be universal - claustrophobia, loneliness, loss of memory, large semi-dark areas with things that go bump, not to mention suddenly waking up and not knowing what the heck is going on all around you.

It had some nice "seat jump" scenes, and had moments where it was surprising funny.

And lots of nice twists too - don't see that enough in movies in general any more!

I can't comment too much on the "technical" aspects of the film, sorry, I'm just more of "was it a good, believable story" person. This was.

Better than you'd expect. I was shocked that movies like this.. can still sell and be good enough to watch. The theater was packed. Nobody was disappointed. Grade A- acting. Intense action! New superstars will emerge from this one. I won't spoil it by telling you who. You'll see. Rating >> 8.1

Antibodies director Christian Alvart takes suspense into space with this tale of two astronauts who realize that they aren't alone as they drift into the darkest corners of our galaxy. Awakening in their hyper-sleep chamber with no memory of who they are or what their mission is, disoriented astronauts Lt. Payton (Dennis Quaid) and Corporal Bower (Ben Foster) gradually surmise that they are the only ones aboard the darkened spacecraft. But how did they get here, and what are those strange sounds coming from the belly of the ship? The only way out of their hyper-sleep chamber is a narrow air shaft, and the only one small enough to climb through it is Corporal Bower. As the younger of the two space travelers shimmies inside, the older remains behind to offer guidance on the radio transmitter. But the deeper Corporal Bower ventures into the ship, the more apparent it becomes that something horrible has happened. Could it be that the survival of the entire human race rests in the hands of these two astronauts stuck on a lonely ship in deep space?

It's a shame critics trashed this one and made it flop. The director and writer behind this could have become some of Sci-Fi's greatest if they were given the room to make a few more films. You can see a lot of raw talent put into this, but not all of it so perfectly refined.

The people trashing it I think have pretty dumb reasons honestly. Seems primary gripe is you can draw similarities to Alien, but the art direction and style isn't exactly like Ridley Scott, so it's bad! Dumb.

The film also has a different aesthetic to filming and editing than your typical Spieldberg or Ridley Scott style. I suspect that too is some trashed it. It has a rougher quality to its visuals, but it works quite well with the movie.

I wouldn't say the film is as refined as Alien 1, 2, or 3, but it stands on it's own.

Honestly might recommend this over Alien 4 or Alien Covenant. Definitely over an AvP movie.

Despite some derivative elements, the story and plot-line was unique and the end surprising. There were a lot of unique and novel elements.

Honestly I think people and critics just weren't in the mood for this when it came out in 2009. Maybe it was over shadowed by some other film? Or they were exhausted from too many gory scifi films in the 00's? I don't know. But if this were released new on Netflix in past few years it'd probably be considered one of the best scifi horror they made.

Better than you might expect, based on the television trailers. The trailers made the film look like just another clone of the "Species" series. In fact, it's nothing like that.

The film centers around two characters who awaken on what at first seems to be a ghost ship, and quickly discover the extent to which "they are not alone." The remainder of the film parallels the experiences of the two men as they separate and seek to establish control over the ship.

The film has a well-defined plot (not a given in modern sci-fi films) and sticks to it. No wacky subplots that peter out irresolutely; no absurd romancing. Also, mercifully absent were explanations of the current state of affairs that dragged the whole movie sideways.

The finale is corny but satisfying. The movie does such a good job of taking the viewer on the journey with the protagonists, that the denouement is refreshing.

Not great film-making, but good sci-fi.