Voyagers is a scifi movie, an anemic Lord of the Flies in space. Vague environmental disaster sends a generation ship to a newly located Earth-like planet, crewed by vaguely created/conditioned/cultivated kids with one adult Richard(Colin Ferrell) to supervise/parent. As they reach their teen years the crew discovers and questions their mandated medication which makes them docile and less sexual and the inevitable conflict ensues.
Ferrell is the real outlier in the cast, able with his considerable talent and presence, to almost by shear force of will make the story more cogent and relatable, unfortunately he is offed in service to the swiss cheese of a plot. The youthful crew is all cast well, the two leads Ty Sheridan and Lily Rose Depp do the best they can with the tired, baffling script. The one crucial piece of casting that was utterly fumbled is Fionn Whitehead as Zac the rebellious/psychopathic, his lack of charm and aggression paired with his frail physical presence make virtually everything that happens with the character not only unbelievable but laughable. The entire plot hinges on this characters ability to manipulate and intimidate and its a total failure.
Excellent production design and slick camera work unfortunately do nothing to redeem the utterly banal, predictable, implausible plotting. The conflict is so manufactured, so pointless, despite the smattering of interesting ideas the story contains its rendered virtually unwatchable. There's a final montage at the end showing the remainder of the ships journey and that is the most intriguing part of the movie. Ultimately the focus is in the wrong place, the central conflict an ineffective and unnecessary distraction in what could have been an intriguing character study.
Utter tedium.
Currently available to rent on most VOD platforms.
Don't See It.
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