When the Lara Croft clone arrives you can tell that Paul WS Anderson (Resident Evil, AVP) was involved. Mr. Anderson’s presence as a producer might also account for certain startling stylistic similarities between AVP and Pandorum. Don’t let the comparison deter you.
Pandorum is a fine space thriller from the sub-genre that brought you Alien. In 2174, when the earth’s resources are spent, the spacecraft Elysium is launched to seek out the next nearest habitable planet. But when Ben Foster awakens from extended hypersleep, he has no recollection of his mission or why the vessel looks decimated. His commanding officer, Dennis Quaid, suffering similar after effects from his deep space nap, is in no position to fill in the blanks.
A quick recon reveals the unthinkable; they are not alone and the new occupants of the craft are devolved cannibal mutants. Where is everybody else? And just how long have they been asleep?
Christian Alvant’s relentlessly exciting film keeps the punches coming – here’s a demented John the Baptist figure, there’s a genetics programme gone awry – without giving anything of its twisty ending away. There remains the possibility that Mr. Foster, our dashing hero, has succumbed to Pandorum (or space madness) and cannot be relied upon as a narrative focus.
If anything, Pandorum, a sort of anti-Moon aimed squarely at platform gamers with low boredom thresholds, is a little too eventful; the many chase scenes are terrific fun but the film is often at its best when playing with David Bowie’s description of a tin can floating away into oblivion.
Still, this is essential viewing for those jonesing for more sci-fi after District 9.