Now
here's a sci-fi that actually has some science in it. 'Europa Report'
isn't anything groundbreaking, but I did find it very watchable. It
used a limited budget well, and rarely became unbelievable. I also
quite liked the filming style (though the bit where one guy was
recording the rest of the crew with a handheld was pretty cliché).
Found footage-type films actually make sense in this setting, as
there are cameras all over the place on ships which don't just tell the story effectively, but often capture some beautiful shots in an often very confined feeling film. This contrast is referenced, and is present throughout, but is never fully explored in the movie.
The
plot was formulaic and fairly predictable, and the characters were
nothing particularly interesting, but the whole found footage
documentary thing kept it feeling fresh, and there were several
twists in the plot along the way. The time jumps were somewhat
confusing if you weren't paying attention to the little date thing at
the bottom, but were a nice way to reveal that guy's death and how it caused the
other's freak-out episode.
I
was disappointed by the aggressive alien creature conclusion, but not
surprised - it's an American movie. The build-up is good, at least,
and the director builds tension and combines it with the natural
claustrophobia of their environment very well. I like that they
actually held on a couple still frames of the alien at the end, too.
It was both different and in keeping with the documentary premise.
Europa Report: 67.0