I.S.S. Review-A stellar cast cannot keep this film in orbit

Back in December I had seen the trailer for I.S.S. in theaters. My initial reaction was that it looked like a smart thriller with an important political message. Doing my research on the talent behind it, I.S.S. had a lot going for it. Directed by BAFTA nominated director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the screenplay was apparently on what is known as “The Black List”, a prestigious list of great screenplays that have yet to be produced. Starring a solid cast of award nominees and winners, including the incredibly talented Oscar winning Ariana DeBose, I.S.S. should have been a much better movie than what was put to film. Instead, we got a rushed story (with a runtime of only 1 hour and 35 minutes), little context, and a movie that wants to believe it is smarter than it actually is. 

The story of I.S.S. takes place in the near future as Dr. Kira Foster and Christian (played by John Gallagher Jr.) arrive at the International Space Station to start their scientific research. They are greeted by fellow American Gordon Barrett(played by Chris Messina), and Russians Alexey, Nicholai, and Weronika/Nika (played respectively by Pilou Asbæk of Game of Thrones fame, Costa Ronin from The Americans, and Masha Mashkova from For All Mankind). Not long after arriving, Kira witnesses a series of nuclear explosions on Earth’s surface and the American’s get a classified message: the US and Russia are at war and the American scientists on board need to take control of the I.S.S. by any means necessary. Without giving too much of the film away, tension and paranoia runs high as the American team begins to suspect their Russian counterparts may have received a similar message from their leaders. 

Every actor and actress gives a great performance in spite of the material that they got to work with. We get many little moments between all of the characters that help flesh out their personalities and histories. We learn about Gordon and Kira’s past histories via a conversation during a repair mission that is both sweet and believable. A tense moment reveals a deep friendship between two  astronauts on different ends of the moral spectrum. The movie also does a good job representing the Russian team members as three dimensional people, and avoids making them stereotypes common in American cinema. They have complex relationships, have the same paranoia and fear as the American team, and are not played entirely as villains in the movie. 

Unfortunately, these character moments work against the script as we are meant to believe the actions and justifications of each character as the story floats forward. There are too many instances where I had to remind myself that these are supposed to be some of the top astronauts and scientists in the world. They ask a lot of questions that would be easy to assume an astronaut on the I.S.S should already know, and they take safety risks beyond the scope of reason. For example, while repairing a communications satellite, Gordon, who is played somewhat like the leader of the group, decides to untether himself to his safety latch to reach the antenna. There is no immediate rush to have it fixed, and there is no reason he could not readjust to compensate. It makes no sense to make such a risky move, especially for someone we assume is an experienced astronaut. 

The film has some ambitious ideas that feel rushed, where I feel an additional 30 minutes could have saved this film and given us some better context. It could have talked a bit more about the tensions between the United States and Russia, adding a parallel to the very real tension between our two countries currently. Instead, a quiet scene around the dinner table explicitly states that politics aren’t discussed onboard. With this information, it makes even less sense when only a few moments later crew members are actively trying to sabotage each other. We could have added a few more scenes that added to the rising paranoia and chaos onboard, and would have justified the characters choices a bit better. It’s hard to determine who exactly we should be rooting for, as almost every character reacts to the situation in such a way that hurts our sympathy towards them.  Even the ending felt cheap and rushed, with little to no resolution regarding the fates of our crew and the war below. 

The film wanted to be smarter than it actually is, but failed to showcase the very real conflict between the US and Russia and relied on leaps of logic to justify its story elements. Great performances by the entire cast could not save it from a weak script and a very short runtime. I had high expectations coming into this film and they all came crashing down.

What did you think? Do you agree or disagree with my take on this film? Comment below, and please don’t forget to Like and Subscribe!