News New Movie: Europa Report
- Thread starter HazMatt
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Well, I watched it. I was not disappointed.
I tend to hold rather low expectations of films that attempt to portray spaceflight, after such felgercarb as Armageddon, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and Apollo 18. Sure, this was advertised as 'hard sci-fi', but you never know how badly the filmmakers will mangle that. Apollo 18 was technically hard SF, and, well... yeah. Yuck.
This beats Apollo 18 hands down (at least, from what I can make out about what people have said of Apollo 18, and the few scenes of it that I've seen), so one shouldn't have to worry about that level of awfulness. If I had to find a film or films to compare this to most closely, Apollo 18 probably wouldn't fit. Moon wouldn't be a good match either; personally, I find a better comparison to be the 1990s films Mission to Mars and Red Planet, and this is better than both.
From a filmmaking standpoint, thrillers aren't my favourite genre and I don't tend to watch many thrillers, so I can't really say how well this film performed as one, and my opinion of it is probably lower than it would be if it were of a different genre. It is somewhat ponderous in parts, but it isn't 2001 (after all, it's only 90 minutes). The performances were good (Sharlto Copley!), and the actors carried their characters through the various scenarios they found themselves in. While the effects might have fallen short at some points, they didn't fall far, and some of the shots are quite visually impressive. The sets and props definitely evoke the feeling of the ISS, and make things feel 'real'.
The music is by Bear McCreary.
As for the 'found footage' thing, personally I think it should take a detour into Amalthea and explode. It was novel once, but it isn't anymore. District 9 did it right by incorporating the found footage into a believably-presented mockumentary format, interspersed with more conventional cinematic storytelling (which is somewhat unusual and a potential cause for confusion, but allows the filmmaker more flexibility as well as the ability to avoid some of the pitfalls of the found footage style). Europa Report also applies the 'mockumentary' format, but unfortunately doesn't exploit its potential to the degree that District 9 did. By being set in the camera-rich environment of a spaceship, the film avoids the problem of being shot by a single handheld camera. All of this does give a feel very much like Voyage to the Planets, which is understandable. In fact, if anything, this might be a sort of 'spiritual sequel' to Voyage to the Planets.
The film would have probably benefitted visually by not being constrained by the found-footage style, but whether it would be constrained thematically or from a storytelling standpoint is debatable.
From a scientific standpoint, it was fairly good. No major figures or facts about trajectories, spacecraft attributes and soforth were presented for the audience to pick over, which is probably a good thing. The biggest inaccuracies and irrealisms were small technical details that one might expect to find applying to a wide range of things in a wide range of films. The biggest issue is probably the severity of the radiation risk on Europa, but it is nevertheless relevant and addressed. Some aspects of the story are quite fanciful, but the film wouldn't really work without them.
So overall, on a Sci-Fi Mohs Scale Of Hardness, I'd put this somewhere above Avatar and below Voyage to the Planets. Perhaps most importantly, the science feels believable. It ties together thematically, allowing you to suspend your disbelief, and doesn't go running around desperately trying to crush that suspension of disbelief with spider-rocks, Faces on Mars or oxygen-producing beetles.
So my final verdict, that I'll have to split up into two perspectives: would I recommend this film?
To an average moviegoer; Yes, if you have 90 minutes to spare or you want to see a movie at a cinema where this is showing, go for it. It isn't the best movie of the year, but it isn't a bad film. You might like it, or you might not.
To an Orbinaut; You should watch this movie and you should watch it as soon as possible. Regardless of what you think of the story as a whole, effort was put into this film- various attributes, little details, that you will appreciate. You may perhaps roll your eyes at some points, but what's brilliant about this film is that it never feels like it's trying to offend your sensibilities and be a veritable Birdemic of movie-science. If nothing else, you'll probably enjoy this film because one doesn't tend to see stuff like it very often.
I tend to hold rather low expectations of films that attempt to portray spaceflight, after such felgercarb as Armageddon, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and Apollo 18. Sure, this was advertised as 'hard sci-fi', but you never know how badly the filmmakers will mangle that. Apollo 18 was technically hard SF, and, well... yeah. Yuck.
This beats Apollo 18 hands down (at least, from what I can make out about what people have said of Apollo 18, and the few scenes of it that I've seen), so one shouldn't have to worry about that level of awfulness. If I had to find a film or films to compare this to most closely, Apollo 18 probably wouldn't fit. Moon wouldn't be a good match either; personally, I find a better comparison to be the 1990s films Mission to Mars and Red Planet, and this is better than both.
From a filmmaking standpoint, thrillers aren't my favourite genre and I don't tend to watch many thrillers, so I can't really say how well this film performed as one, and my opinion of it is probably lower than it would be if it were of a different genre. It is somewhat ponderous in parts, but it isn't 2001 (after all, it's only 90 minutes). The performances were good (Sharlto Copley!), and the actors carried their characters through the various scenarios they found themselves in. While the effects might have fallen short at some points, they didn't fall far, and some of the shots are quite visually impressive. The sets and props definitely evoke the feeling of the ISS, and make things feel 'real'.
The music is by Bear McCreary.
As for the 'found footage' thing, personally I think it should take a detour into Amalthea and explode. It was novel once, but it isn't anymore. District 9 did it right by incorporating the found footage into a believably-presented mockumentary format, interspersed with more conventional cinematic storytelling (which is somewhat unusual and a potential cause for confusion, but allows the filmmaker more flexibility as well as the ability to avoid some of the pitfalls of the found footage style). Europa Report also applies the 'mockumentary' format, but unfortunately doesn't exploit its potential to the degree that District 9 did. By being set in the camera-rich environment of a spaceship, the film avoids the problem of being shot by a single handheld camera. All of this does give a feel very much like Voyage to the Planets, which is understandable. In fact, if anything, this might be a sort of 'spiritual sequel' to Voyage to the Planets.
The film would have probably benefitted visually by not being constrained by the found-footage style, but whether it would be constrained thematically or from a storytelling standpoint is debatable.
From a scientific standpoint, it was fairly good. No major figures or facts about trajectories, spacecraft attributes and soforth were presented for the audience to pick over, which is probably a good thing. The biggest inaccuracies and irrealisms were small technical details that one might expect to find applying to a wide range of things in a wide range of films. The biggest issue is probably the severity of the radiation risk on Europa, but it is nevertheless relevant and addressed. Some aspects of the story are quite fanciful, but the film wouldn't really work without them.
So overall, on a Sci-Fi Mohs Scale Of Hardness, I'd put this somewhere above Avatar and below Voyage to the Planets. Perhaps most importantly, the science feels believable. It ties together thematically, allowing you to suspend your disbelief, and doesn't go running around desperately trying to crush that suspension of disbelief with spider-rocks, Faces on Mars or oxygen-producing beetles.
So my final verdict, that I'll have to split up into two perspectives: would I recommend this film?
To an average moviegoer; Yes, if you have 90 minutes to spare or you want to see a movie at a cinema where this is showing, go for it. It isn't the best movie of the year, but it isn't a bad film. You might like it, or you might not.
To an Orbinaut; You should watch this movie and you should watch it as soon as possible. Regardless of what you think of the story as a whole, effort was put into this film- various attributes, little details, that you will appreciate. You may perhaps roll your eyes at some points, but what's brilliant about this film is that it never feels like it's trying to offend your sensibilities and be a veritable Birdemic of movie-science. If nothing else, you'll probably enjoy this film because one doesn't tend to see stuff like it very often.
Kyle
Armchair Astronaut
Alright, I've re-watched it with the link provided above and it's not as bad as I thought it was the first time around. I feel like I've neglected a proper break-down of my opinion of the movie so I'll leave you with this.
Pros.
Accurate portrayal of physics.
Good portrayal of Europa.
The spacecraft is realistically done, reminds me of BBC's "Voyage to the Planets."
Cast worked well.
The EVA sequences were awesome.
Cons.
The editing was awful, I was completely confused at points about where in the story we were at. They should have portrayed it in a linear fashion instead of jumping around.
The fact that the aliens on Europa were close enough to the surface to be able to attack them didn't make sense, especially seeing as Europa faces a heavy amount of radiation from Jupiter.
The aliens were a little ridiculous to me, they were basically luminous octopuses.
We didn't get an in depth look about the "Europa Report" mission planning, such as how the heck they got such a massive spacecraft up there. I believe this was a commercial mission.
7/10 IMO.
Pros.
Accurate portrayal of physics.
Good portrayal of Europa.
The spacecraft is realistically done, reminds me of BBC's "Voyage to the Planets."
Cast worked well.
The EVA sequences were awesome.
Cons.
The editing was awful, I was completely confused at points about where in the story we were at. They should have portrayed it in a linear fashion instead of jumping around.
The fact that the aliens on Europa were close enough to the surface to be able to attack them didn't make sense, especially seeing as Europa faces a heavy amount of radiation from Jupiter.
The aliens were a little ridiculous to me, they were basically luminous octopuses.
We didn't get an in depth look about the "Europa Report" mission planning, such as how the heck they got such a massive spacecraft up there. I believe this was a commercial mission.
7/10 IMO.
Izack
Non sequitur
Unstung
Active member
I've finally seen the movie after the disc release. My thoughts on it are negative, it's a bad film. The review below is heavy on spoilers, starting in the second paragraph.
The first thing that one notices when starting Europa Report is the cinematography. Many cameras are placed throughout the ship that record the events the crew experiences, nothing new to anybody who has seen the trailer or read previous comments. Often medium or wide angle lenses are used at medium or wide apertures (Similar to The Man Who Wasn't There, but more boring), except when showing multiple crew members from a distance where the depth of field is increased. Characters occasionally interact with the cameras and move them, but they're mostly stationary and not interesting. The footage is cut at varying speeds with a lot of transitional effects (e.g. a grid with multiple camera angles and switching into a display with footage). Effects and displays overlaid on the footage is used to make things more entertaining. Displays provide information like radiation dosage and elapsed time. Effects are used when dangerous events occur, from losing contact to a person being irradiated. The low frame rate from suit and damaged cameras is unappealing and takes the viewer out of the experience, it's like lag in a video game. The composition of most scenes is bland and not more interesting than a snapshot.
The story is not presented linearly, which can create confusion. After landing on Europa, a flashback is made to when the first astronaut died and why only five crew members remain. The transition was done very poorly, leading me to believe I've missed something earlier on. I was unable to piece the story together until after the flashback. Hopefully, the confusion was the result of me missing a few lines of dialogue. Nonetheless, it was executed poorly. I could not recall how early in the mission did that flashback occur, so I cannot make the connection to whether it prevented Andrei from speaking to Rosa early in the film.
The plot itself is no more than disaster (horror but not scary?) film that happens to take place on a deep space mission which lands on Europa. A private company sends six astronauts go to deep space for the first time since 1972. Then everybody dies. Life on Europa is discovered in the process of the crew being killed, one after the other in a methodical way. First some "algae" was discovered under the surface by a crew member on EVA. A light is seen right underneath the ice which turns out to be a creature. The final crew member, Rosa, sacrifices herself and floods the ship, which reveals a beast, unsurprisingly a bioluminescent, tentacled creature.
The lifeforms are simply an afterthought that were only placed into the movie to make the location unique, the tragedies that happen while in space are not special. Communication was lost with the spacecraft after a solar system hits, but in the process of trying to fix the issue, a crew member dies. This should cause everybody to become at least more cautious if not cancel the mission, but they do neither. All information returns at the very end with the discovery of the creature as Rosa reestablishes communication and returns the data over the past many months. The film is unsatisfying in trying to justify the astronauts' deaths.
The character development before the crew arrives at Europa is minimal, so their deaths hardly affect the viewer. A connection is not felt with the ground staff either, who are interviewed and essentially repeat how the mission did not go as planned, but life was found. However, they provide some information on Europa and the mission objectives.
Attempting to focusing on all six astronauts in only 90 minutes is detrimental to Europa Report. It is difficult to feel for any of them. Rosa appears to be given more screen time, but she records herself recalling the events at the end of the film to return to Earth. It is ironic that the crew is supposedly carefully picked and top notch. Frequently they act unprofessionally, which leads to the death of one crew member.
Additionally, most of the astronauts' deaths are too predictable. Katya (the biologist, how shocking) wants to risk her life and return some samples after the ocean probe fails, so she does. The radiation levels become ever increasing as she wanders further than she is supposed to go... and she falls into the ice. She found a light source further out that was previously spotted by another crew member (presumably the "light source" arrived at the surface due to the drilling and disruption caused by the probe) and decided to pursue it. Of course, the light source is the monster. The crew then launches at the next window, but the ship crashes and the pilot hits his head when unbuckled, after attempting to soften the landing. The capsule sinks, so two crew members try and fix it. One dies when he steps down and europaquakes kills him. The other tries an alternative plan, only to die when the light encircles the spacecraft.
Scientific accuracy:
There are fluctuating radiation levels on Europa which is unusual. The creature appears to irradiate everything around itself, something that makes me skeptical. In her final moments, the speed that Rosa returned all the data over the past few months to Earth cannot be possible. When the failed EVA occurs to acquire communication with Earth, James becomes covered hydrazine and Andrei has his suit torn, losing oxygen quickly. According to the movie, the hydrazine could not come off and it was too toxic to bring inside the station, resulting in James rescuing Andrei and dying. There is nothing obviously wrong before the crew arrives at Jupiter. The real Juno and Atlas V footage is more interesting than the overall movie.
Now for the numerical rating:
Bad/10
(I'd say a three or four, but that's very subjective.)
The few decently composed scenes of Europa's surface was not worth it. I prefer watching the videos on the Mission Juno website.
The first thing that one notices when starting Europa Report is the cinematography. Many cameras are placed throughout the ship that record the events the crew experiences, nothing new to anybody who has seen the trailer or read previous comments. Often medium or wide angle lenses are used at medium or wide apertures (Similar to The Man Who Wasn't There, but more boring), except when showing multiple crew members from a distance where the depth of field is increased. Characters occasionally interact with the cameras and move them, but they're mostly stationary and not interesting. The footage is cut at varying speeds with a lot of transitional effects (e.g. a grid with multiple camera angles and switching into a display with footage). Effects and displays overlaid on the footage is used to make things more entertaining. Displays provide information like radiation dosage and elapsed time. Effects are used when dangerous events occur, from losing contact to a person being irradiated. The low frame rate from suit and damaged cameras is unappealing and takes the viewer out of the experience, it's like lag in a video game. The composition of most scenes is bland and not more interesting than a snapshot.
The story is not presented linearly, which can create confusion. After landing on Europa, a flashback is made to when the first astronaut died and why only five crew members remain. The transition was done very poorly, leading me to believe I've missed something earlier on. I was unable to piece the story together until after the flashback. Hopefully, the confusion was the result of me missing a few lines of dialogue. Nonetheless, it was executed poorly. I could not recall how early in the mission did that flashback occur, so I cannot make the connection to whether it prevented Andrei from speaking to Rosa early in the film.
The plot itself is no more than disaster (horror but not scary?) film that happens to take place on a deep space mission which lands on Europa. A private company sends six astronauts go to deep space for the first time since 1972. Then everybody dies. Life on Europa is discovered in the process of the crew being killed, one after the other in a methodical way. First some "algae" was discovered under the surface by a crew member on EVA. A light is seen right underneath the ice which turns out to be a creature. The final crew member, Rosa, sacrifices herself and floods the ship, which reveals a beast, unsurprisingly a bioluminescent, tentacled creature.
The lifeforms are simply an afterthought that were only placed into the movie to make the location unique, the tragedies that happen while in space are not special. Communication was lost with the spacecraft after a solar system hits, but in the process of trying to fix the issue, a crew member dies. This should cause everybody to become at least more cautious if not cancel the mission, but they do neither. All information returns at the very end with the discovery of the creature as Rosa reestablishes communication and returns the data over the past many months. The film is unsatisfying in trying to justify the astronauts' deaths.
The character development before the crew arrives at Europa is minimal, so their deaths hardly affect the viewer. A connection is not felt with the ground staff either, who are interviewed and essentially repeat how the mission did not go as planned, but life was found. However, they provide some information on Europa and the mission objectives.
Attempting to focusing on all six astronauts in only 90 minutes is detrimental to Europa Report. It is difficult to feel for any of them. Rosa appears to be given more screen time, but she records herself recalling the events at the end of the film to return to Earth. It is ironic that the crew is supposedly carefully picked and top notch. Frequently they act unprofessionally, which leads to the death of one crew member.
Additionally, most of the astronauts' deaths are too predictable. Katya (the biologist, how shocking) wants to risk her life and return some samples after the ocean probe fails, so she does. The radiation levels become ever increasing as she wanders further than she is supposed to go... and she falls into the ice. She found a light source further out that was previously spotted by another crew member (presumably the "light source" arrived at the surface due to the drilling and disruption caused by the probe) and decided to pursue it. Of course, the light source is the monster. The crew then launches at the next window, but the ship crashes and the pilot hits his head when unbuckled, after attempting to soften the landing. The capsule sinks, so two crew members try and fix it. One dies when he steps down and europaquakes kills him. The other tries an alternative plan, only to die when the light encircles the spacecraft.
Scientific accuracy:
There are fluctuating radiation levels on Europa which is unusual. The creature appears to irradiate everything around itself, something that makes me skeptical. In her final moments, the speed that Rosa returned all the data over the past few months to Earth cannot be possible. When the failed EVA occurs to acquire communication with Earth, James becomes covered hydrazine and Andrei has his suit torn, losing oxygen quickly. According to the movie, the hydrazine could not come off and it was too toxic to bring inside the station, resulting in James rescuing Andrei and dying. There is nothing obviously wrong before the crew arrives at Jupiter. The real Juno and Atlas V footage is more interesting than the overall movie.
Now for the numerical rating:
Bad/10
(I'd say a three or four, but that's very subjective.)
The few decently composed scenes of Europa's surface was not worth it. I prefer watching the videos on the Mission Juno website.
Last edited:
RGClark
Mathematician
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Just saw this over one of the streaming video services. I liked it though I must say the film had the look of one of those fictional documentary-style shows on the Discovery or Science channels.
The topic though is an important one. It is being discussed now of using the SLS to mount a sample return mission from Europa. This could be THE most profoundly important scientific endeavor in the history of humanity because it could prove life on another world.
Bob Clark
The topic though is an important one. It is being discussed now of using the SLS to mount a sample return mission from Europa. This could be THE most profoundly important scientific endeavor in the history of humanity because it could prove life on another world.
Bob Clark
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