Passengers

Passengers
 
In a post 9/11 world, Passengers is one of those films that push allsorts of buttons. The general feeling of how you will cope with surviving an accident where many had died. Obviously, this film is not a happy film, but at less than an hour and a half there's no feeling that the film is dwelling on the subject for longer than it needs to. And really after watching this film, the fact it is only 88 minutes will be one of the positives about this film.
 
Passengers tells the story of a group of survivors of a plane crash (Though it's never explained how they survived the crash) and they are assigned Dr Claire Summers (Anne Hathaway) to help them with group therapy. During her first visit one of the survivors Eric (Patrick Wilson) refuses therapy, but finally agrees to one on one consultation during which they form a bond. Throughout the film Claire and the survivors are followed by eerie people representing the airline looking to make sure that they don't report that the crash was due to technical failure which could cripple them.
 
Anne Hathaway is certainly trying to prove herself as a serious actress, first with Rachel Getting Married (earning her an Academy Award nomination) and now this film. Surrounding Hathaway is an array of acting talent from Patrick Wilson to Diane Wiest and it is talent that isn't wasted in this film. Wilson, who was remarkable in previous film Hard Candy and Little Children proves that he is a star in the making and will no doubt be picking up awards in the near future.
 
However, I wish I could say the same about the film as a whole. I couldn't quite tell whether this was supposed to be The X-Files, with all the talk of conspiracy theories or just a regular personal issues drama. If the creators had decided on one or the other, it may have been more interesting, sadly that's not to be and the clichés come on thick and fast. The relationship between Claire and Eric could have come from almost every drama created in existence and the quirky relationship that develops between them is cringe worthy at times to watch.
 
The thing I hate more than a great film with no special features is an average film is lots. This film is full to the brim with special features, all of which I had no care in the world to look through. However, knowing that sometimes a bad film can be redeemed slightly by seeing how much work was put into it (e.g. The Godfather Part III) and so I sat through a dull commentary and seven minutes of deleted scenes, two featurettes and still nothing could shake off the feeling that I'd just wasted my time completely.
 
Passengers is a bad film for so many reasons. I can't fault the acting, but I can fault the whole story surrounding the actors. Possibly one of the worst films I've seen in a long time and I'll never get any of that time back.