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wfbarksdale
Reviews
Passengers (2016)
Entertaining edge of the seat sci-fi, lacks a strong theme
The plot of this film will keep you on the edge of the seat, and the depiction of how interstellar travel might happen at some point in the future is very entertaining. However I didn't feel like the movie contained any well developed theme or any message. The most interesting theme was the notion that we have very little control over our lives. The two passengers have their own hopes and dreams about the future, but ultimately they have little control over making these dreams a reality, instead they are just "passengers", and must simply make the best of what they have. I think this theme gets drowned out by the exploration of the ship's luxurious facilities, and the romance between Lawrence and Pratt.
As a sucker for anything to do with sci-fi and space travel, I did enjoy it. However, I think it had more potential.
Operator (2016)
Explores the question of whether a human being can be reduced to data and stats
I ended up enjoying the film because I come from the tech industry and I am generally interested in the themes explored. I felt the acting / dialogue / cinematography was a bit mediocre.
The main theme throughout the movie was the question of whether a person can be reduced to a collection of data and statistics. The main character Joe, believes this to be true, however most people resist this notion and find it uncomfortable. I really enjoyed the exploration of this idea and its effects on people. In the end, Joe's endless statistics and self quantifying make him so rigid that he is terrified of change, and he decides he must overcome this.
Not sure the film makers quite nailed the ending, but still enjoyed the film.