‘I.S.S.’ Movie Review: Space Thriller Ratchets Up Human-Based Tension
Photo from Bleecker Street
From Jeremy Kibler
There have certainly been exceptions, but in the movies, bad things always happen in space. Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite (whose harrowing 2013 SeaWorld documentary Blackfish made way for narrative films) moves more into genre with I.S.S., a well-made space thriller that milks more than enough tension out of a mission without extraterrestrial beings. Human decisions are scary enough.
Ariana DeBose leads the film as American astronaut Dr. Kira Foster, who along with colleague Christian Campbell (John Gallagher Jr.), boards the International Space Station. Symbolic of the United States and Russian collaboration after the Cold War, the I.S.S. is used as a research facility where the crew makes advancements in medicine, tech and space exploration. They’re welcomed by American commander Gordon Barrett (Chris Messina) and their shipmates, Russian cosmonauts Weronika Petrov (Masha Mashkova), Nicholai Pulov (Costa Ronin), and Alexey Pulov (Pilou Asbæk). When a worldwide disaster happens on Earth, both groups receive separate orders to abort their missions and take control of the station by any means necessary. No matter whose side you’re on, we have a problem.
Pared down to the essentials, I.S.S. is a good-looking B-movie with a few A-list actors and polished production values. Now, we don’t get a backstory for all six characters or learn their hobbies and social security numbers. But where it counts, Nick Shafir’s script efficiently establishes these people through their actions and dynamics before the high-pressure scenario gets underway. It also doesn’t hurt that the actors are all strong and bring emotional weight; the charismatic DeBose may not get to carry a tune here, but she remains compelling when dialing it back as Kira.
Though I.S.S. may not match the budget of a Gravity, the effects to convey a spacewalk or zero gravity are as close to seamless, and the tight quarters (especially the phone booth-sized sleepers) are as claustrophobic as they should be. The main conflict comes down to something as simple as the U.S.A. versus Russia, but as a thriller, it’s effective and pretty consistent in its paranoia-fueled tension as characters must outsmart each other. If there are any nits to pick, one use of ADR needlessly spells out a climactic reveal that already gets the point across through showing rather than telling. At the same time, a Russian superstition (which is addressed in the film’s opening three minutes) shrewdly comes back for the climax if one is paying attention.
It might not make any new discoveries about space or human nature, but think of I.S.S. as this year’s Underwater — a respectably tight and tense genre piece released in January with a solid cast (including John Gallagher Jr.).
Rating: 3.5/5
I.S.S. hits theaters on January 19, 2024.
