I.S.S. Review

Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite

Cast: Ariana DeBose, John Gallagher Jr., Chris Messina, Masha Mashkova, Costa Ronin, Pilou Asbaek

Screenplay: Nick Shafir

Running Length: 1:35

MPAA Classification: R (Violence, Language)

U.S Release Date: 1-19-24 (Wide)

Genre: Science Fiction/Thriller

 

        Six crew members (three Americans and three Russians) aboard the International Space Station are living peacefully together until one day World War III breaks out between Russia and the United States on Earth. Suddenly, their way of life aboard the space station is tested when they receive orders from down below: to take control of the I.S.S. by any means necessary. This is the basic premise of Gabriela Cowperthwaite's taut but unremarkable thriller. It's a great hook, and to Cowperthwaite's credit, she does an effective job at building suspense, but the film's failure to do anything interesting with its premise ends up being its downfall. 

        Our main character is Dr. Kira Foster (Ariana DeBose), an astronaut who is being sent to the I.S.S. for the first time. She is joined by fellow astronaut Christian Campbell (John Gallagher Jr.) who has already been to the I.S.S. once before. When they arrive, they're greeted by American Commander Gordon Barrett (Chris Messina) and the three Russian cosmonauts, Weronika Vetrov (Masha Mashkova), Nicholai Pulov (Costa Ronin), and Alexey Pulov (Pilou Asbaek). We're only treated to a few scenes of the crew bonding and going about their day-to-day routines before war breaks out below and the crewmembers are pitted against one another. 

        On one hand, it's nice to see a film forego the typical getting-to-know-the-characters setup, but on the other hand, it limits character identification. The only reason we care about the outcome is thanks to the solid performances from the cast, but beyond a few traits here and there, there's not much depth to these people. And while this movie moves at a brisk pace, some of the relationships and subplots that develop suffer as a result. A good example is the relationship between Gordon and Vetrov — we're only given a few lines that inform us that they're together, along with a single scene of them sharing a kiss, but beyond that, it's never really brought up again.  

        While the film drops the ball when it comes to character development, it is at least consistently suspenseful. There were several scenes where I found myself at the edge of my seat, and the decision to keep us in the dark along with the characters about what's happening down below proves to be the right choice as it helps amplify the tension. It's also impressive what Cowperthwaite manages to do with a limited budget. Although most of the film takes place inside the space station, the film looks great, and the images of the devastation on Earth are both convincing and haunting. If anything else, it at least makes I.S.S. standout a little, even if the film as a whole fails to be a complete package. There's not much in terms of surprises here, and on top of the underdeveloped characters, the short runtime doesn't allow for any ideas to fully form. It's competently made, but in a time when it feels like a lot of movies could easily be edited down, this might be one of the rare cases where I'd argue the opposite. If you're looking for a few thrills, this is a passable way to kill ninety minutes; expecting anything more will just lead to a sense of disappointment.