Director: Sebastian Cordero
Writer: Philip Gelatt (Screenplay)
Starring: Daniel Wu, Sharlto Copley, Christian Camargo, Karolina Wydra, Michael Nyqvist, Anamaria Marinca, Embeth Davidtz
Plot: An international crew of astronauts undertakes a privately funded mission to search for life on Jupiter’s fourth largest moon.
Tagline – Fear. Sacrifice. Contact.
Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Smart Idea of Found Footage
Story: Europa Report starts as we meet the international crew William Xu (Wu), James Corrigan (Copley), Daniel (Camargo), Katya (Wydra), Andrei (Nyqvist) and Rosa (Marinca) who have been selected for mission to Europa, the fourth largest moon of Jupiter, one that has been studied to be considered in real life as a location to visit, because of its liquid surface.
Dr Under (Davidtz) is reporting on what was discovered on the recording upon the spacecraft, which saw it go off the radar unexpectedly.
Thoughts on Europa Report
Characters – We need to look at the whole crew as one unit here, William, James, Daniel, Katya, Andrei and Rosa, they have come from different countries, to be part of this big mission, we do have level headed members of the team, which does take away any sort of individual characteristics to make them feel real. The crew all know how big this moment will be and will discuss the problems they come to face on it.
Performances – The cast does have some well-known names including Michael Nyqvist and Sharlto Copley who along with the rest of the cast do make use believe the mission we are following, nobody is over acting or being a hero, they are grounded scientist.
Story – The story here is one of the most interesting ideas for a found footage film that I have seen, the idea follows a space mission to Europa one of the moons of Jupiter, but something goes wrong and we are watching the recordings. Now. Firstly, I want to point out that the idea of traveling to Europa has been one the scientific community has been talking about for years, every piece of information about the moon in correct (for the time of the film being made), this is what makes this such a fascinating story. the problem with this story comes from the fact that we know it is a found footage story, so you can guess how this all pans out. I did like how we were presented this story like a documentary of the events being revisited though.
Mystery/Sci-Fi – The mystery in this film comes from the ideas of what could be found on Europa, what the crew might have found and what happened to the crew. The sci-fi side plays hand in hand with this as we go into space to search for a potential new home.
Settings – The film is set mostly inside the spacecraft which sees the science being discussed, it shows the beauty of space and how the crew must have full trust in each other.
Special Effects – The effects are part of the weaker point of the film, they don’t look as flawless as other space based movies.
Scene of the Movie – The final footage.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The clichés the film falls into in the end.
Final Thoughts – This is an enjoyable sci-fi mystery, it uses the real idea of a space mission to add the horrors of what could happen if things went wrong and answers are required.
Overall: Smart, interesting sci-fi found footage film.
Rating
