I rarely go to the movies. Or at least, I don't usually go to the movies. It's not one of my things to do. However last week, with the semester over, and finally having off-days, I decided to take a trip to the movies. Everyone was hyped up about "Rogue One," and even though I am a die-hard "Star Wars" fan, I decided I would wait out for the DVDs. So I went to see "Passengers," starring Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt.

I saw the trailer while skimming Facebook months before and was immediately impressed and interested. It seemed like an interesting film. Romance in a science fiction setting. I love science fiction and I love romance. Perfect Combination... Right? Well... Let me first go over the plot and then I will give you my thoughts on the film.

The film takes place on a spaceship called Avalon, which is making a voyage from Earth to another planet with 5,000 colonists. Since the space voyage will take 120 lights years, the colonists are in cryogenic sleep in hibernation pods and when they are four months away from their arrival to their new home, they will be awakened to prepare for their new home. However, an unknown cause short circuits on of the pods, occupied by James Preston, (played by Chris Pratt). James is alone and confused for the first act of the film, unable to go back to sleep in the hibernation pod, no way to contact earth, and no access to the ships control bridge, he is basically going to die before the ship makes it to earth, and only thing he can talk to is an android bartender named Arthur, (played by Michael Sheen.) .Right as he is contemplating suicide, he comes across a beautiful woman, Aurora Lane (played by Jennifer Lawrence).

Reluctantly, James wakes Aurora up and they begin building a relationship. We learn a bit about Aurora's back story, how she became a writer like her father, and her plan was to wake up on the new planet, spend a few years on it, and go back to earth and make history to be the first journalist to time travel. Very interesting, but it doesn't really go anywhere. Suddenly, on the anniversary of their relationship, Aurora finds out James deliberately woke her up, and since they can't go back to sleep, Aurora feels that James has "killed" her. This puts a souring on their relationship as the films climax approaches. They spend some time apart, James trying to explain to Aurora why he did it, and Aurora being unable to forgive him. The whole time this is going on, the ship begins to have glitches, temporary power fails, and robots destroying themselves. Without giving the spoilers away, I have to admit, while it was a bit cliched, it was satisfying to my taste in movies.

The movie has a few flaws, but very prominent flaws. The first flaw is the chemistry between our two protagonists. Their relationship seems a bit rushed to the point I had a hard time believing they were even in love. By the second half of the film, this goes away a bit, but I still couldn't help but find it distracting. And a fourth character does come in half way through the story. The ship's captain played by Laurence Fishburne. Unfortunately, he is only there to advance the plot and provide an advantage for the couple. His screentime isn't even twenty minutes because he ends up dying as a result of massive malnourishment. His death didn't really hit me home, because we never had time to emotionally connect with the characters as we did with Aurora and James. I never liked movies that did that, bringing in a character who plays vital to the advancing the plot, only to be killed off after he or she has done their job. I've seen this kind of element in many movies, (Red Dawn, Pompeii, Dune.)

The film does have redeeming features. Jennifer Lawrence gives a great performance. She's always been a talented actress. Chris Pratt's performance does go over the top a bit in the beginning but it was a bit funny so I'm not complaining. The cinematography is fantastic, and the CGI is used to its proper advantage and not just for cheap effects. I will admit it does shine through a bit too much, but considering how too many films have begun to depend on CGI for film effects, it was forgivable. The soundtrack is perfect, matching with the scenes and emotions being presented throughout the film. Overall, the film did have me leaving the theater satisfied. The humor was even on point in many scenes. Arthur, the android bartender is where most of the humor came from. I loved how logical he reacted to things but yet had no understanding of human emotions. The second half of the film was a good payoff. It led to an exciting climax and an emotional pay-off. I did walk out of the theater satisfied.

This film was worth the watch. Some may like it, others may hate it. But I certainly enjoyed it. If you are looking for a film that combines science fiction with romance, I think you'll enjoy this film. I certainly did.