Voyagers

As no one who makes the decision to see this film can fail to note, it might well have been titled LORD OF THE SPACE FLIES. Before that fact becomes clear, however (and this viewer knew nothing of the plot or premise prior to watching), the initial set-up – involving a bunch of children who have been raised by the inhabitants of a doomed Earth to be sent aboard (what I believe science fiction authors like to call) a “generation starship” as vanguard explorers of a possible new planetary abode, and who discover, after ten years of travel, and having reached their adolescence, that their sexual impulses are being artificially dampened – bore undeniable promise. Unfortunately, things play out in a highly familiar and unconvincing manner, with dialogue that deteriorates further and further into an abyss. It is noticeable that, although the youngsters do run wild and shed their inhibitions, somewhat strangely they seem never to reach the point of being able to figure out that clothing is in fact removable. In 2021, writers still seem unable to stop themselves from stealing Obama’s “that’s not who we are” line, just as they still seem unable to stop themselves from precisely rehashing the 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) narrative device that consists in having the communications transmitter develop a fault that both prevents communication with Earth and necessitates repairs involving a perilous spacewalk. Finally, the filmmakers select an ending that is far weaker than was employed in either ANIARA (2019) or DON’T LOOK UP (2021).