The advance trailers for “Voyagers,” an ambitious new sci-fi thriller, played up the bacchanalian hijinks that ensue when a crew of teen-aged astronauts discover a way to unlock all of their emotions instantly.
And for its first 20 minutes or so, “Voyagers” seems like it might succeed in transforming the electric rush of hormones, from lust to love to jealousy and anger, into a fevered and hallucinatory visual feast.
Voyagers
1 out of 5 stars
Now playing in theaters only
But writer-director Neil Burger, no stranger to science-fiction, having helmed “Limitless” and “Divergent,” forgets to focus on the wonder and discovery of his young vessels, and loses himself instead in a tepid re-do of “Lord of the Flies,” only in space instead of on an island.
It’s a shame, because the central themes explored in “Voyagers” are solid.
In the year 2063, as global warming worsens to an extinction-level event, scientists discover a possibly habitable planet millions of miles away. A manned mission to explore the new world will take 86 years. So a team of scientists and engineers, led by Colin Farrell, decide to breed their own 30-member crew in a hermetically sealed environment, meaning none of the young men and women will have any knowledge of the life on Earth they are leaving behind. Once in space, the crew will pair off and procreate, and their children will eventually have children, meaning the initial crew’s grandchildren will be the first humans to set foot on the new planet.
That’s a pretty damn good idea, if you ask me.
Farrell’s Richard, as surrogate parent to these new space pioneers, accompanies them as the only adult. He also makes the decision to stunt their emotions, thereby muting any unpredictable feelings of lust or jealously or violence, by administering a daily inhibitor called The Blue.
All goes well until 10 years into the trip when Zac (Fionn Whitehead) somehow decides to stop taking The Blue, and immediately encourages others, including Christopher (Tye Sheridan), to do the same.
Almost immediately, those that follow Zac’s lead experience an endorphin rush they’ve never known, which Burger visualizes with short bursts of visceral imagery.
Zac himself turns inexplicably rape-y, brute-forcing himself on any adjacent female, including Sela (Lily-Rose Depp, daughter of Johnny). He also hungers for power, undermining Christopher’s rational approach to problem-solving, by encouraging subjugation and fealty once the young crew finds itself on their own with light years still to travel.
The speed with which Burger introduces big ideas only to discard them in favor of so-so action and sex sequences is the fatal fly in the ointment that hobbles “Voyagers.”
There’s no time to identify with, much less invest in, any of the characters. Sheridan makes for a surprisingly bland lead, especially after the success of “Ready Player One,” and Whitehead is completely one-note as the central villain. That leaves Depp, and she does okay given the material she’s working with, but the jury is still out as to whether she will grow into an actor capable of iconic performances like her father.
Honestly, the entire last half-hour of “Voyagers” is a waste. The climatic showdown is devoid of tension. And by the time the credits roll, you’ll be left wondering why you just willingly sacrificed nearly two hours for nothing.
John W. Allman has spent more than 25 years as a professional journalist and writer, but he’s loved movies his entire life. Good movies, awful movies, movies that are so gloriously bad you can’t help but champion them. Since 2009, he has cultivated a review column and now a website dedicated to the genre films that often get overlooked and interviews with cult cinema favorites like George A. Romero, Bruce Campbell and Dee Wallace. Contact him at Blood Violence and Babes.com, on Facebook @BloodViolenceBabes or on Twitter @BVB_reviews.
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This article appears in Apr 15-22, 2021.