Thursday, September 26, 2013

Pandorum review


Some of the movies that I remember most fondly are ones that I hadn't even heard of before seeing them, films that I went in to "blind". Pandorum is one such film.

Which is one reason why I don't like to actually tell anyone very much about the movie other than saying it's good. The other reason is that I think the mystery is a big part of what makes the movie work; we are in the dark just as the characters are, and we discover things as the characters do.

To be honest I can't think of all that much else that I'm willing to say outside the spoilers section, other than the fact that the movie just works. The plot, acting, environments, effects, and so on are all very good and seamlessly integrated parts of the whole.


Overall I'm going to give it a 9/10; it's a good movie, if perhaps not for everyone. But if you're reading this blog then there's a decent chance you're the sort of person who will enjoy it.




#####SPOILER WARNING#####

I absolutely love the end. It's partly the various revelations and twists that build up towards the finale, and partly the intensity; in an already dark and claustrophobic movie, the final scene with two people crammed into the tiny pod, in the dark, as it fills with water raises the fear and claustrophobia to a new level before they finally emerge into sunlight - not only is it the first natural light in the whole film, it's practically the first scene that isn't in a dark cramped monochromatic environment. And it felt glorious; it felt to me like a metaphor for the physical act of birth, and that the human race itself had been reborn. It was a surprisingly positive and hopeful ending to a very dark and oppressive film, and I really think that's a huge part of why the whole thing works, or at least why it worked for me.