Voyagers (2021) Review

 "We won't ever see the planet."

-Sela

As Earth dies, humanity breeds a group of children in isolation and sends them into space to colonize a habitable planet.  The new planet is 86 years away, so they themselves won't actually make it there, but their grandchildren will.  10 years into the journey, Christopher (Tye Sheridan) and Zac (Fionn Whitehead) discover they are all being drugged to keep them docile and emotionally stunted.  As the crew stops taking the medication, the mission becomes critically endangered.

What Works:

Voyagers has a really interesting premise and for the 1st act, it works really well.  The kids on this ship are in a really interesting predicament.  They didn't ask to be put on this ship.  They were never given any choice and now they find out they are being drugged to keep them under control.  It's an interesting conflict from an ethical perspective and I was really looking forward to seeing how all of the characters were react to this news and what they would do next.  The set-up works really well and got me very excited for the rest of the film.

Colin Farrell plays Richard, the only adult on the ship.  I like Farrell in everything I've seen him in and that remains true here.  He's underused, but sympathetic and one of the few likable characters in the film.

On a technical level, this is a good looking and sounding film.  The score is a great mood-setter.  It's beautiful, but also made me uneasy.  The cinematography and editing are also used in interesting ways.  The long hallway shots are awesome from a metaphorical perspective and the quick editing to let you know that characters are feeling things for the first time is also effective.

What Sucks:

From here on out there will be spoilers.  This movie really craps the bed and I can't explain how without revealing plot details.  SPOILER ALERT!  You've been warned.

Man, are these characters stupid.  Like, I get that teenagers are dumb, but this is to a whole other level.  When Christopher provides video proof that Zac and Kal (Archie Madekwe) are behind all of the problems they've been facing, you would think that the crew of the ship would believe them.  But no.  Zac and Kal just say a few words about an alien invading their ship and everyone believes them.  WTF!?  That makes no kind of sense and it's simply sloppy.  

Speaking of sloppy, that describes this script as a whole.  The dialogue is so on-point with it's exploration of these angsty teens and how they are reacting to the situation.  There's no subtlety whatsoever.  I was hoping for a deeply philosophical and ethical movie like what was presented to us in the first act.  Instead, we get get angry teens complaining that life sucks and isn't fair.

This movie essentially turns into The Lord of the Flies in Space.  The second half of the movie is just teens chasing each other around the ship.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, but with the terrible writing I mentioned, it doesn't make it fun to sit through.  I was at least there might be some sort of clever ending to try and stick the landing.  Nope.  It's just a big, dumb fight in an airlock.  How original.

Finally, this movie is pretty rapey.  When Zac stops taking the medication, he stops controlling his impulses and starts getting grabby with Sela (Lily-Rose Depp).  It's extremely uncomfortable to watch, which does set him up as a villain well enough, but the threat of rape is ever present throughout the rest of the film and that doesn't exactly make for an enjoyable cinematic experience.  Who thought this was a good idea?

Verdict:

Voyagers has a really strong start with an some interesting ethical conflict, excellent technical aspects, and a solid performance from Colin Ferrell, but the movie quickly loses steam with terrible writing, stupid and rapey characters, and an uninventive finale.  In the end, it's like a worse version of Passengers from 2016 and not worth your time.

 4/10: Bad