Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Europa Report - Classy Science Fiction



Europa Report was beautiful Science Fiction.  Stunning visuals and good acting propel this 90 minute space adventure further than other recent Sci-Fi films.  Feeling more like the film adaptation of a Sci-Fi novel, many people may find the plot a bit slow because it certainly isn’t an explosion packed, action thriller.  However, overall the film feels very intelligent and believable which is good considering it is another “found footage” style film in which we watch recently declassified footage received via transmission from the ship months after initial communications are lost.  This style of movie has been very successful in the past in cases like The Blair Witch Project but also terrible in more recent movies like Apollo 18 so the genre can be a double edged sword.  The movie starts out rather slow and jumps around chronologically which is frustrating at times but once the mission gets underway you start to feel like you are another astronaut off on this incredible journey.  Centering on the private space company Europa Ventures, the film chronicles the first manned mission to Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons which was recently found to have a liquid ocean beneath its frozen solid surface.  In an attempt to locate the first life outside of our planet in the solar system the team embarks on a four year voyage to Europa and back to drill beneath the surface and collect samples.  I won’t give away any spoilers but needless to say, the venture does not go as planned.  The films strongest point is its believability.  It doesn’t go too far and make you feel like there is no chance what you’re watching could really happen but it goes far enough to keep your interest peaked and make you want to watch more.  Obviously the film is fiction but with all the recent news about private space companies like Virgin Galactic and Space X the story has an air of truth to it in that the age of private space adventures is just around the corner and a whole new age of discovery is nearly upon us.

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