Premise alone is not always the best way to intrigue me, but that is definitely what happen when I first saw the trailer for I.S.S.
The said premise of the new film by Gabriela Cowperthwaite is in the near future (always a rich tapestry to set any story in), where we see the arrival of Dr. Kira Foster (Ariana Dubose). It is her first time on the I.S.S. (International Space Station) with fellow Americans Gordon Barrett (Chris Messina) and Christian (John Gallagher Jr.). Of course, it is not just those from the US on board, as three Russians are also aboard: Alexey (Pilou Asbæk), Nicholai (Costa Ronin), and Weronika (Maria Mashkova).
As clearly hinted at in the trailer, camaraderie is already apparent between the groups (including one romance). When not working on their individual projects (Foster’s work involves work on mice for organ donation reasons I can’t completely remember), off time consists of trying to catch up with loved ones on earth, mutual conversation/drinking, and occasional games of chess. All is well until (again, as shown in the trailer) earth shows signs of massive explosions. Each side is given orders to take over the I.S.S. by any means necessary.
It was at this turning point in the film (not entirely half way through, maybe 40-45%?) when things went more on the disappointing route. While the film is only about an hour and a half long, I was hoping to have had a little more time with some character development of each member of the crew. Instead, most of them almost immediately becomes paranoid of the other side. I am not saying that isn’t realistic, but it is rather cliche. Perhaps it may be due to the fact that this is the first writing credit for Nick Shafir.
Any type of Sci-Fi flick needs to have something in the visual department (not just special effects, but how it looks in general.) While the look of the film is passable, it did not entirely blow me away. As the movie went on, I found the film to be a little darker than I felt it should have been (obviously, I know it is darker in space). I’m not sure if it is entirely the fault of either cinematographer Nick Mathews or Cowperthwaite, but it could also be I was thinking of the far superiorly shot Gravity from over a decade ago.
Parents, this is yet another example of a movie that is a soft R rating. Most of this is due to swearing (good amount of F bombs) and the violence. Come to think of it, the violence is not as bad as some I have seen in some PG-13 films. Since there is no sexual content (just one kiss between two characters), I would argue middle school and up.
Thankfully, the film did do one crucial thing correctly: it ended the way it should have. Without giving too much away, the film tells just enough of what we need to know about the characters without having to give too much exposition to the audience.
Even so, I.S.S. is sadly a film that is left adrift after the credits roll.
Overall:
Nothing else to say 