Wut I think: Pandorum

Ever read one of those comic books that seem kinda generic at first but then turn out to be pretty cool?


Pandorum is like one of those. (http://www.pandorummovie.com/)

When it starts, buzz-cut space marine Bowers wakes up out of cryo-sleep and finds that he barely remembers who he was, much less what he was supposed to do. It turns out he was a tech and that he needs to reset the reactor, which is dying and will explode. On his way, he encounters several surviving crew members who join him on his most excellent quest to save the Elysium.

Of course, not everything is all sunshine and rainbows. Elysium, as it turns out, has been overrun with (I kid you not) kung-fu space mutant zombies. They used to be human, but now they're not. They also know kung-fu. Yeah. That's about as extensive as the plot gets. There's some stuff about how Elysium was a transport ship and the titular space sickness, but that's about it.

Generic plot aside, the movie itself is actually really cool. The ship feels industrial and run-down, and the eerie oppressive atmosphere permeates well. The characters aren't half bad too. You get Dennis Quaid as Bower's Lt, Payton and two unnamed crew members/sidekicks. One of them is Viet and speaks entirely in Viet (which is a plus) and the other is Bower's apparent love interest and action girl. The actors play their roles well and the characters don't come off as being flat as a result.

And the space-zombies are pretty awesome too. Because they know kung-fu.

The movie never goes into any long-winded philosophical rants on humanity, which is good. The entire movie is about Bower's attempt to survive and never attempts to be anything else. A romance between Bowers and Action-girl is hinted at, but is ignored in favor of running away from space-zombies and discovering what happened. It's very clean-cut and actually gives it a nice feel compared to some other horror sci-fi movies.

The visuals are nice and dark, taking some inspiration from the Nostromo in Alien. The zombie design isn't as cool, but it's hard to top a phallic H.R. Giger inspired monstrosity. Clothing actually looks like what someone would wear in an industrial spaceship and the action is fast and bloody. However, the gore isn't gratuitous and feels just right considering the overall tone of the movie. Everything feels like it should fit in, which is a nice touch seeing as how most sci-fi tends to try and pack everything and the kitchen sink.

I only found myself becoming bored during a couple moments where they attempt to explain everything in one go, but other than those, the movie mainly focuses on Bower and his crewmates. It's always a rush, as you never really know who might die. Sure, the main characters are pretty much guaranteed survival, but this movie really does nail that anything-can-happen feel (IN SPACE).

So all in all, Pandorum is a cool movie. It's not the best out there, but it's really fun to watch.

Pandorum gets a:
Pretty Darn Cool.