Europa Report (2013)

Movie Info

The first manned trip to an unknown world…what could go wrong?

Man is travelling beyond the moon for the first time on a quest to reach the Jupiter moon of Europa.  As the scientists aboard the ship near the planet, tragedy strikes and the ship is cut-off from communication to Earth.  Now, the mission to discover if there is potentially life on Europa could prove to be deadly as the scientists find time ticking down before they must head back to Earth…but are they alone on the icy moon?

Directed by Sebastian Cordero, Europa Report is a sci-fi fantasy film presented as a hybrid between found footage and documentary form.  The low budget film was relatively well received and first available on VOD before a wider distribution.

Say goodbye to Earth!

I heard some buzz about Europa Report and it was recommended by a sci-fi loving coworker so I decided to check it out.  I have to say, despite the low budget, I was rather impressed by what the film was able to accomplish and was interested that it was primarily a film about scientific exploration instead of story…but unfortunately it is this take on the film that created a double-edged sword.

Much like a 2001:  A Space Odyssey (which received some comparisons in other reviews), the movie is really about the scientific discovery of man doing something unknown.  Unfortunately, many today demand more story and the story aspect of the movie just doesn’t quite work.  The attempts to create a horror film from the story leave a hollow feeling and I wish the horror had simply been the idea of being stranded in space…alone and cold.  It does have a similar feel to Sunshine as well in this sense in that I was far more impressed by the sci-fi part of the story than the horror.

You got something on your suit…awe crap…

The actors are basically character actors, but it does work for the movie.  A “big name” actor probably would have been a distraction in the film and you would just assume that they are the one that gets to survive.  Here, since you don’t know any of the actors, you don’t who will live or die…but it does seem pretty obvious that it wasn’t going to end well.  I do wish they had spent more time developing the characters so you felt more when they did die.  The addition of more briefings on the character or videos to home might have aided getting to know them.  With a 90 minute movie, the characters just did not flourish like they could have.

Mmmmm…calamari!!!

Visually the movie excels.  The movie used footage from the International Space Station for the movie and it is combined with the images shot for the film.  Also, the filmmakers did their best to create scientific accuracy in the storyline (including the hydrazine which is a deadly chemical used in rocket fuel).

Europa Report is a rather different film.  I don’t know that I can wholeheartedly recommend it due to the lack of a plot, but it does have a lot of moments and visuals that I can recommend.  If you are a fan of science-fiction, I do recommend checking it out for a different and more idea based thrill ride…just go into it with an open mind.