Customer Reviews

Pandorum [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(54)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

See the movie BELOW, about the WW2 submarine? A sleeper right? Seeing this with low expectations reminded me of seeing that with low expectations. Especially when the ending credits came up and I realized that they made it all the way to the end without losing it.

When I first saw the trailers for Pandorum I said (as it seems a few others did), well, I gotta see it but it's probably another Event Horizon or an Aliens(1 or 2) ripoff attempt or a space zombie "bug hunt". (And I joked with my wife that Quaid must need some quick cash to re-do his basement or something, and he'd probably be killed off in the third scene when it's too late to get your ticket money back.)

Not that there's anything wrong with any of those things, Event Horizon was good for the first half till it overexplained the obvious, Aliens 1/2 were classics that deserve homage and Resident Evil (1 and 3) were great zombie fun with excellent fight dancing. (And every actor is human with human cash needs.)

I missed this in the theatre and forgot about it till I went looking for MOON on DVD and noticed this came out at the same time, MOON was out of stock so I got this.

It's good, I have to say it's really good. Like all science fiction / horror fans I pride myself on being able to guess the inevitable twist and I'm pretty good but not this time. Not for the multiple twists.

After being SOOOOOOOOOOOO INCREDIBLY DISAPPOINTED by Avatar's ripping off Every Lousy children's use-syfy-to-cover-the-stinking-preaching storyline, this Pandorum film was a refreshing fun adult Action/SF flick.

Good multiple ending twists, fun and toe-curling fight scenes with well done good-olde "bug hunting" ;-) and a final ending that while "happy" actually worked well and satisfied without feeling like it was tacked on just because it tested well.

Glad I bought it, it's a keeper. Cudos to the crew and cast. Remember guys, the good SF usually doesn't do well at the box office but eventually rises to the top in home sales.

Some of these reviews are very eloquent and seem to be written by people with a great deal of entertainment expertise. All I can say about this movie is that I was on the edge of my seat from start to finish. It was a complete surprise. I thought it might be just another cheap sci-fi dud like we've all seen. Not so! If there was a negative I would say it leaned a bit toward the gory side. Not gratuitously though. And what a complete twist at the end! I think this movie deserves a solid "A".

So many people these days want to do movie comparisons with just about every new title that's released...here is another one getting that same treatment. These are the movies I have seen this one compared to: "Alien," "Solaris," "Event Horizon," and "2001: A Space Odyssey." This flagrant need to compare movies is largely due, in my opinion, to Hollywood's decade long quandary with not being able to come up with much new material...everything has already been done...and everyone has been conditioned to not expect anything new from that corner of the planet. Well, I'm not buyin' it! Books pour out of author's imaginations and onto the shelves of our local bookstores on a daily basis, and they are ALL different from the next. If book writers can do it, then I'm sure movie writers can do it as well. And this movie is no exception. It has plenty of newness to it. As a matter of fact, once you get through the creepy and atmospheric body of "Pandorum," which takes place on a spaceship meant to transport everything needed to start anew on another planet much like Earth, and finally reach the climactic ending, the breath of fresh air is resultant of a movie that never let on where it was going, reveals a story that has never been told (even remotely), and leaves the watcher with good feelings in their hearts...feelings of hope and reverie. The acting is superb by all in attendance, although, I believe Ben Foster should have gotten top billing, not Dennis Quaid. The vast majority of the time spent here is centered around Ben's character, whereas, Dennis' character doesn't do much more than try to stay connected with him from another part of the ship. All in all, "Pandorum" delivered on all eight cylinders. It had suspense, tension, depth, a well-thought-out plot, exceptional acting, production, and direction, creepiness, absorption, and reward. If you like the sci-fi/horror type thing, DON'T MISS IT!!!!!
Five Stars *****

"Pandorum" was one of those rare films that blew me away and exceeded every expectation I had for it. From the mysterious opening to the horrific finale, this film is a work of carefully constructed perfection. Was it dark? Yes. Was it violent? Yes, but not gratuitously so. Was it tasteful? Totally! That's where this film succeeds where so many have failed. The STORY is the forefront of this film, and it really comes through.

If you like SCFI movies, especially Aliens 1 and 2, then you'll like this movie. Standard story line, stuck on a ship in space will killer aliens, etc. The Blu-ray quality is great. Great twist ending.

This movie reminds me why I should not listen to critics. I had the urge to buy it when I saw it in my local store. I resisted after reading the headlines of major critics' reviews and purchased it on demand instead. After finishing the movie I regretted it-only because I will now be gladly paying full price for it. I should have gone with my gut feeling and just bought it for the full 20 bucks.

You are either a fan of this genre or you or not. If you are then this is a must own. If you are not then it is still a quality rental. It was MUCH better than I expected.

I caught this on cable and thought I'd watch a few minutes and then try and find something else. That never happened, I was on the edge of my seat for most of the movie. This film came as a complete surprise, and a good one at that. I'd never heard of this movie, and having grown tired of cheesy science fiction wanna be films that are mostly rip offs that fall short of being entertaining, was expecting this movie to be more of same. it wasn't.

This film straddled a couple of film genres quite well, bringing something new to the table and had enough twists in the plot to keep the viewer guessing, and it even fooled me in the end. The story holds up well, and isn't filled with holes like so much of what you see today.

Well done.

What seemed in previews to be "Event Horizon redux" (which is ironic considering that Event Horizon director Paul W.S. Anderson is a producer here), Pandorum proves to be just about anything but. Ben Foster and Dennis Quaid play crew members on a ship that is the last hope for the survival of humanity, and wake up with no memory of their identities or their mission. As the film goes on, both men grow to discover other survivors, as well as the fact that they are definitely not alone on the ship. I really don't want to say any more for fear of spoiling the surprises that lie within Pandorum, but it is safe to say that the film delivers the goods in terms of frights, suspense, gore, and overall mind messing. Though there are a number of plot holes to find, director Christian Alvart, who helmed the internationally acclaimed Antibodies, provides so much visual flair and grimy creepiness that it just ends up being hard to look away from the finished product and find anything wrong with it. It helps that Quaid and especially Foster are put to excellent use here as well, with Foster proving once again that he has become one of the most formidable, and underrated, actors around today. All in all, no matter how derivative Pandorum may look to you at first glance, give it a shot. You will indeed be glad that you did.

(No Spoilers Here)

Pandorum was really a pretty decent flick. It was by no means a perfect movie, but probably one of the top 10 Sci-Fi films of 2009.

The basic premise (this plot was really fun as it untangled itself, so it's difficult to describe without any spoilers, but here it goes):

The main character (played by Ben Foster, from Bang Bang You're Dead, and "Angel" from X-Men) wakes up with Dennis Quaid on a ridiculously large space ship, after being in cryogenic stasis for many years.

The problem is that being in stasis for so long causes severe disorientation, so the two officers slowly remember who they are, their jobs, their mission... and, they're locked out of the bridge for some reason.

As their memories slowly come back, and they discover a few more passengers, they realize there are huge problems with the ship and the crew - some stasis chambers are empty, the bridge appears to have been sabotaged, life support is failing, and the other officers cannot be found. But the biggest problem -- there is something or someone on the ship who may be killing people.

Are they aliens? mutated humans? a saboteur? As the small crew try to run for their lives and solve the mystery, they begin to realize that the cargo they're hauling may save humanity itself.

This film was very reminiscent of Pitch Black - a small crew facing desperate odds, in the backdrop of a sci-fi setting. It was also reminiscent of Mimic, The Cave, and Sunshine by Danny Boyle, another great yet under-appreciated sci-fi movie.

There were lots of plot twists - nothing terribly brilliant, but enough to keep you interested. My biggest complaint was not enough lighting in certain scenes, just too dark to see what was happening in 2 or 3 key scenes. But overall, fans of the above-mentioned movies will definitely appreciate Pandorum. Lots of action, lots of suspense. Not too scary - a pretty well-rounded movie.

Hyper-sleep, a stasis for humans traveling in space for years, is a relatively sacrosanct concept in sci-fi. It's a life preserving process shown in everything from Planet of the Apes to Alien. From Star Trek and Stargate to Avatar. But what happens when the chambers, and the mechanisms for keeping humans not only alive but functional upon awakening, malfunction on the immobile bodies?

The malfunction of stasis is the basis for Pandorum, both the movie and the resulting condition.

Bower (Ben Foster) awakens from his hyperbunk. Searing pain, confusion. When this space vessel left Earth in year 2174, the population had skyrocketed to unmaintainable levels and the ship's mission was to follow a probe that found possible salvation for Earth's remaining, starving population. Only Bower doesn't know how long he's been asleep, it's pitch black, and he hears strange noises. When Lieutentant Payton (Dennis Quaid) wakes up at least there's two of them. Right?

Initially just about everyone thought this was going to be Event Horizon's sequel. In some ways that is true. The difference, however, is that this adds another plot-dimension instead of an alternate dimension. Think of the visionless claustrophobia of Descent, where every pin drop is an atom bomb, every faint screech is the unknown danger lurking around the corner, waiting to kill, to torture, to feed. When Bower and Payton slowly uncover the ship's terrifying secrets - powered by a futuristic set and production that looks imminently dangerous - the film becomes perpetually tense and creepy.

Pandorum has not received widespread recognition, making it criminally unknown because of woeful promotion. A solid sci-fi, thriller the combination of action, horror, and sci-fi is captivating from beginning to end. Sure, it's derivative, and a few scenes could probably have been edited out, but the overall product is an exploration of tried and tested sci-fi practices. Highly recommended for sci-fi fans, the multiple twist endings should also draw in other cinema fans.

Jason Elin