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****
Dir: Morten Tyldum (12A, 120 mins)
Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence star in this romantic sci-fi, which should be a futuristic adventure with heartbreak. The spacecraft, Avalon, travelling to a distant planet carrying thousands of people has a sleeping chamber malfunction awakening two people, Pratt and Lawrence, 90 years before they are supposed to reach their destination. As they try to solve the mystery of why they were awoken early, other malfunctions occur and it’s left to them to save the ship and it’s sleeping occupants from disaster, whilst also falling in love. Michael Sheen does robot bartender, with Andy Garcia and Laurence Fishburne also adding some backstory and texture to essentially a two hander fuelled by ‘star’ wattage. Director Tyldum makes a blockbuster leap from The Imitation Game, hopefully offering more than sudsy sci-fi, as the ship slips deeper and deeper into peril and some heartbreaking decisions must be made. Lawrence can do this standing on her head, and loveable doofus Pratt seems capable of being a truly romantic leading man, after his previous fun but less weighty roles. Here’s hoping for some quality futuristic slush.
Opens Dec 21