By Grace Rodriguez
characters fall deeper into paranoia.
The film “Voyagers” directed and written by Niel Burger explores human nature yet struggles to unravel and stick to a compelling storyline.
For a film with a director like Burger, known for his sci-fi successes which include “Divergent”, “Insurgent” and “Limitless” viewers were left disappointed. The film is generic and extremely forgettable.
Its greatest accomplishment is fitting in a “Matrix” reference in hopes of winning over sci-fi film fans.
The “blue pill, red pill” allusion distracts viewers from how truly boring the storyline is. The film seems to borrow from different well-known films yet, still manages to come off as directed by inexperienced people.
“Voyagers” falls extremely short, considering its budget was $29 million.
The cheap Nerf-like guns and reused clips of the actors running through the same old hallway makes the budget seem almost comical.
One clip in particular was stitched into the film three different times. Needless to say its theatrical cinematography was lessened with each use. This made the film feel like a beginning photographer’s portfolio.
The lack of scenery stands out because of the location where the film takes place. The only realistic shot viewers got of outer space is the opening scene where the Earth (Florida in particular) is shown from the point of view of space.
This clip is perfectly realistic considering a spaceship would be launched from the Kennedy space station, but it all goes downhill from there.
Burger seems to avoid rabbit-hole after rabbit-hole in hopes of making ‘Voyagers’’ an original film.
In theory, it’s a good strategy when trying to steer clear of copying other films, but this also ended up hindering the film’s ability to unravel a good story of its own.
The film itself cannot decide what storyline to take and so it takes all of them. The film constantly introduces possible plot-lines, but it never delves quite deep enough into any of them.
While the directing, budget decisions and plot is lacking, some of the cast members deserve praise. Tye Sheridan best known for his most recent and well-received role in “Ready Player One” plays Christopher who plays with confidence and is never lacking in delivery.
On the flip-side is Fionn Whitehead, who plays Zac, the most dislikable character in the film.
Whitehead’s style of acting is much more exaggerated, but it works well with his character.
Whitehead does such a good job that by the end, viewers are left questioning if they might actually dislike the actor or just his character.
A minor character that deserves much more praise is Phoebe, played by Chanté Adams.
Adams is so stellar in such a minor role that viewers are left wanting more of her. Unfortunately, she is only seen in a few scenes.
Finally, Lily-Rose Depp, daughter of Johnny Depp, plays Sela.
Based on her performance in this film, she seems to have the most experience. Each scene is well thought-out and her character is one of the most likeable of all. It is also refreshing to see such a strong female lead.
Depp’s character is strong and confident, and the actress’ diligent nature really shines through.
The rest of the cast is insignificant and forgettable.
Even the most prolific actor Colin Farrel, is lacking.
He is supposed to be the most volatile and “human” character but there is almost no difference between his character and all the others whose emotions are being suppressed by the “blue.”
Overall, this film should be avoided. It is not hard to see that the budget was not well-spent.
It would be a tedious task to pinpoint where exactly all the money went.
After all, it did not go into the weapons, it did not go into the scenery, and it most definitely did not go into the space suits— if you could even call a cheap yellow hazmat suit that.