Space thriller 'Voyagers' never reaches liftoff
The technically elegant “Voyagers,” about a space colonization trip run amok, is easy enough to sit through, but it’s a story in need of more rocket fuel. There isn’t a bad scene in the movie, yet there isn’t a really good scene, either. It’s a quiet psychological thriller, even when it’s trying to stir mayhem.
Writer-director Neil Burger has serious intentions here, conjuring up a “Lord of the Flies” scenario in space. That is, isolated young men and women on a spaceship begin to indulge their primal impulses when they are left to their own devices.
It’s an interesting concept, but “Lord of the Flies” doesn’t translate neatly into space. The kids in “Flies” were relatively normal schoolboys, and what they did on a deserted island was truly shocking. In “Voyagers,” the slightly older and considerably more nubile explorers have been specially bred, drugged and deceived, so it’s little wonder that they might be ready to act out — and even have a little sex now and then.
The story takes place in the future, when Earth has become increasingly uninhabitable, and scientists have finally discovered another livable planet. Trouble is, paradise is more than an 80-year trip away, so a special expedition has to be set up. Though sex seems taboo on the spaceship, the picture-perfect crew will be expected to bear offspring during the long flight, for the benefit of the future colony.
When an unexpected tragedy leaves a leadership void, the measured Christopher (Tye Sheridan) and the alpha Zac (Fionn Whitehead) begin dueling for power — and for the affections of Sela (Lily-rose Depp), who makes Spock look like the life of the party. With all these beautiful people no longer facing artificial hormonal controls, one might expect an orgy to break out on board, though things remain surprisingly tame.
Burger keeps things restrained and admirably avoids CGI excesses, but his characters aren’t deeply enough realized for us to appreciate the complexity of the themes: Do we live by rules, or by impulses? And how do we balance our urge for power with the need for a social civilization? Christopher is pretty much a
blank slate, and Zac comes off more like a psychopath than a power-hungry leader.
Most of the cast leaves little impression, and is just along for the ride. Isaac Hempstead Wright (who played Bran Stark on “Game of Thrones”), for example, stands around quietly, as if waiting for something to do. We have little idea why someone on the ship would side with Christopher or Zac, so as their power struggle intensifies, and crew members get killed, there is no emotional resonance. It’s clear that Burger designed these characters as people who haven’t experienced feelings or pleasure, but empty shells generally don’t generate compelling psychological drama.
Burger departs from the “Lord of the Flies” allegory in one substantial way: He has a much more upbeat ending. Though the final frames are a bit pat, they still feel right for this movie. That’s because “Voyagers” succeeds more as a space adventure than a tale of moral quandary.