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Movies / Upcoming / Pandorum
Pandorum

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Pandorum (2009)

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Reviews Counted:66

Fresh:18

Rotten:48

Average Rating:4.2/10

Consensus: While it might prove somewhat satisfying for devout sci-fi fans, Pandorum's bloated, derivative plot ultimately leaves it drifting in space.

Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for strong horror violence and language.

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Theatrical Release:02-10-2009

Synopsis: In Pandorum, actors, Dennis Quaid (Vantage Point, The Express) and Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma, Alpha Dog), join Cam Gigandet (Never Back Down, Twilight), Cung Le (Tekken, Fighting), newcomer Antje... In Pandorum, actors, Dennis Quaid (Vantage Point, The Express) and Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma, Alpha Dog), join Cam Gigandet (Never Back Down, Twilight), Cung Le (Tekken, Fighting), newcomer Antje Traue and director Christian Alvart (Antibodies) to tell the terrifying story of two crew members stranded on a spacecraft who quickly realize they are not alone.

Two astronauts awaken in a hyper-sleep chamber aboard a seemingly abandoned spacecraft. It's pitch black, they are disoriented, and the only sound is a low rumble and creak from the belly of the spacecraft. They can't remember anything - who are they, what is their mission? The only way out of the chamber is a dark and narrow airshaft. Corporal Bower (Foster), the younger of the two, crawls inside, while the other, Lt. Payton (Quaid), stays behind for guidance on a radio transmitter. As Bower ventures deeper and deeper into the ship, he begins to uncover a terrifying reality. Slowly the spacecraft's shocking and deadly secrets come unraveled, and the astronauts realize that the survival of mankind hinges on their actions. --© Overture Films [More]

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue, Cung Le

Director: Christian Alvart

Director: Christian Alvart
Screenwriter: Travis Milloy
Studio: Overture

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1 - 4 of 6

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Reviews for Pandorum

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Pandorum is a hodge-podge of familiar sci-fi stuff, which feels as if it were adapted from a computer game.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment 1 Comment
10/04/09
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Alvart achieves a strong sense of scale, but characters and ideas are lost amid a mess of fight scenes that, oddly, look like outtakes from ‘The Descent’.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment 1 Comment
10/04/09
Nigel Floyd
Nigel Floyd
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Pandorum's insistence on action sequence after action sequence, reveal after reveal, tension upon tension deadens the effect any of it might have had in a more gracefully developed narrative.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment 1 Comment
10/04/09
Catherine Bray
Catherine Bray
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Pandorum is less a story than a prolonged bout of paranoid hysterics, exuberantly played out on metal gangplanks and inside Stygian tunnels. As such, it works just fine.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/04/09
Xan Brooks
Xan Brooks
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Murky both literally and figuratively.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment 3 Comments
10/04/09
Philip French
Philip French
Observer [UK]

Riffing on Alien, Sunshine and Resident Evil, the German director Alvart finds an effective balance between action-excitement and psychological chills.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
10/04/09
Tom Charity
Tom Charity
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There are some well-executed sequences, but the story makes nothing but a mess of its borrowed ideas.

Full Review Source: Sunday Times (UK) | comment 1 Comment
10/04/09
Edward Porter
Edward Porter
Sunday Times (UK)

Pandorum is dumb, noisy fun. Its flaws are inoffensive inasmuch as Alvart doesn’t give off Anderson’s noxious vibe of insincerity.

Full Review Source: Little White Lies | comment Comment
10/04/09
Matt Bochenski
Matt Bochenski
Little White Lies

Pandorum is neither schlocky enough to be an enjoyable genre flick, nor smart enough to provoke any original thoughts.

Full Review Source: Digital Spy | comment 1 Comment
10/04/09
Mayer Nissim
Mayer Nissim
Digital Spy

It’s a competent if unoriginal adventure but you do wish Alvart had had the courage of his convictions to go with the Pandorum idea rather bowing to the pressure of convention and basically resetting The Descent in space.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
10/04/09
Tim Evans
Tim Evans
Sky Movies

After two hours in the dark with this loud but hollow hybrid, you’ll know “space madness”. In a good year for smart sci-fi, Pandorum lumbers and groans.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment 1 Comment
10/04/09
Kevin Harley
Kevin Harley
Total Film

It might make a passable video game. Despite expensive production design, as a movie it is pretty much unwatchable.

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment 1 Comment
10/04/09
Christopher Tookey
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]

Derivative but mostly just dull, what we have here is an entertainment blackhole able to suck all joy out of a trip to the cinema.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment 2 Comments
10/04/09
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Do yourself a favour and keep the lid of Pandorum's box firmly closed.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment 1 Comment
10/04/09
Sun Online

Action mayhem full of gibbering hominoids, hanging corpses and a few live stars.

Full Review Source: Financial Times | comment 1 Comment
10/04/09
Nigel Andrews
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times

Some scary moments, but its final half-hour is a right old mess, and the title is doomed never to be remembered.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment 1 Comment
10/04/09
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Independent

Pandorum doesn’t make a whole lot of sense and is shot and edited in a way that only adds to the confusion. In space nobody can hear you scratching your head.

Full Review Source: Daily Express | comment 1 Comment
10/04/09
Allan Hunter
Allan Hunter
Daily Express

An appalling script is only one problem with this loud, chaotic sci-fi thriller. It's also directed in such a deliberately confusing way that it's not only impossible to follow the action, but it's impossible to care about the characters.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
10/04/09
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Paul WS Anderson rains down another cinematic crapstorm with Pandorum, a confused, unfocused (sometimes literally) attempt to make an ideas-driven but mainstream sci-fi flick.

Full Review Source: Scotsman | comment Comment
10/04/09
Alistair Harkness
Alistair Harkness
Scotsman

Pandorum squanders its excellent premise and the result is a disappointing, barely coherent mess.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/02/09
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Pandorum

September 24, 2009: Stalked on a Spaceship! 10 Films Anticipating Pandorum
For critics, Pandorum has been like an alien in the ventilation shafts -- it's on the radar, heading towards them, but they just can't see it, no matter how hard they try. The... More...

September 24, 2009: Critics Consensus: Surrogates Is A Passable Thriller
This week at the movies, we've got robot clones (Surrogates, starring Bruce Willis and Radha Mitchell), artistic-minded freshmen (Fame, starring Kelsey Grammer and Megan... More...

September 22, 2009: Dennis Quaid Talks Pandorum, G.I. Joe Sequel Opens in new window
Between trying to spark a space horror revival with "Pandorum," reminiscing about the lost cut of "Enemy Mine," and pledging his support for "G.I. Joe 2," Dennis Quaid had... More...

February 21, 2009: Just another Event Horizon? Opens in new window
More...

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