Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Passengers 4K + 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Mostly predictable, but mostly enjoyable.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 14, 2017

In an ever-connected and "smaller" world that is supposedly bringing people closer together than ever before, it seems like stories of isolation, and the emotional consequences thereof, are becoming increasingly more popular. One of the genre's grandaddies is The Shining, a film to which Passengers gives a respectful nod that runs throughout the entire film. Tom Hanks and Robert Zemeckis explored the concept in Cast Away. But lately it's the Science Fiction (or Science Fact, as the case may be with some of them) genre that's taken the reigns and taken charge of telling stories not only about living alone, but exploring the repercussions thereof. Oblivion, The Martian, and Moon have, in recent years, placed man much farther away from others, the former taking on a more action-heavy approach and the latter two more impactful, and better, films that take the focus away from guns and special effects and find greater purpose in their more dramatically oriented approaches. The genre seems a natural fit, allowing the exploration of concepts and environments and physical challenges to which the audience cannot easily relate to add greater tension while at the same time digging into the core human condition that translates no matter the time or place, be it in an isolated hotel or island, a nearby celestial body, or in deep space some decades or maybe even centuries into the future. Passengers pits two laymen, essentially, against the scale, scope, technology, and fundamental emotional turmoil of operating and maintaining a deep space cruiser, akin to taking today's average guy off the street and tasking him to to do the same onboard a space shuttle. It's not easy (although de facto cavemen have been known to pilot Harriers in battle against an advanced alien civilization, so maybe anything is possible). Passengers certainly doesn't live up to the character building and problem solving excellence of The Martian or the hefty dramatic impact and beautifully balanced complexity-simplicity of Moon, but it's a mostly enjoyable time killer that demands some suspension of disbelief and that plays with a bit of romance and excitement amidst an almost painfully predictable plot.

The starship Avalon is traveling at half the speed of light to the planet Homestead II, an Earth-like planet where humans go to begin anew. The voyage takes well over a century. The crew of 258 and 5,000 passengers make the journey in suspended animation. The ship runs on autopilot and her forward shields deflect any interstellar debris in her way. But while she's maneuvering through a dense asteroid field, one rock gets through. Systems malfunction and a single stasis pod opens. Inside that pod is Jim Preston (Chris Pratt), a passenger who is a homebuilder, not a starship technician. It doesn't take long for him to realize that he shouldn't be awake. He has access only to the ship's most basic functions, recreational areas, and simple meals. He learns that he's awoken 90 years early, and even a message to Earth and back will take more than half-a-century. He begins to take his situation in stride, enjoying the luxuries and facilities the massive vessel has on offer. He befriends an android bartender (Michael Sheen), but when the hopelessness of his situation truly takes hold, he sinks into an ever-deepening depression that leaves him with precious few alternatives or reasons to continue on living.

It's almost a shame that Passengers' promotional materials reveal that someone joins Chris Pratt's character at some point in the movie, but A) it's Jennifer Lawrence, so can't keep her hidden, and B) because the movie starts out really well. Why she awakens some time after him isn't hard to figure out, but it is a key plot point and part of the motivational character exploration that's amongst the film's finest assets, along with its sleek production design. Passengers tries to walk that very fine line between contemplative and entertaining while also trying to sort out the balance between physical emptiness and inner turmoil. It goes through all of the usual permutations. Pratt's Jim awakens confused, tries to sort out what's happening, accepts his fate and has fun with the time alone, falls into depression, and the movie continues on with a dearth of dramatic surprise after that. It certainly has one or two tricks up its sleeve, but for the most part it's a painfully predictable film that seeks out a satisfying, if not standard, exploration of the human condition both in challenge and in love, but all of the moving parts are stock and lack any real interest. For every action there's very little surprise. When problems arise, it's always clear how they will all play out. Passengers relies on simple dramatic movie tropes to build tension, erasing much of the goodwill from its excellent first act and lowering the film from "compelling" to "crude" but playing just well enough, and the ancillary things like performances and production values holding it up, to make for a decent watching experience.

When Aurora eventually joins Jim, she experiences the same emotional ebbs and flows as he: confusion turns to panic turns to acceptance turns to fun turns to depression. If one is the loneliest number, it definitely has company with two. In some ways, the second act is a straight rehash of the first, with Jim basically serving as a guide, almost like a new parent watching over a child who has to learn life for herself and finds reinforcement, not hand-holding, from her parent figure. So the first act is a magical exploration of sleek new technology and the human response to prolonged isolation. The second act is much the same, with a burgeoning relationship thrown in. But that notion that Aurora is going to discover why she is awake looms over the movie, and it's hard to watch the build-up knowing that that's coming. But the film's saving grace, to a point, is that it's so good at having fun with the idea, and exploring its ramifications, and building up their relationship that the inevitable is often far from the audience's mind. The core concept and gorgeous production design draws attention away from the obvious. But once the obvious happens, the movie loses much of its momentum and, even as there are a couple of surprises waiting in the final act or so, all of the actions play out so predictably that, by the end, it's hard to remember just how strong the movie began.

Passengers 4K + 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc and do not reflect either the UHD or the 3D presentations. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

This release of 'Passengers' contains three unique presentations: the 4K UHD, the 1080p Blu-ray 3D, and the 1080p 2D Blu-ray, reviewed here. The 4K and 3D are exclusive to this set.

3D:

Passengers' Blu-ray 3D experience opens with a positive sense of wide open space as the Avalon approaches the screen and subsequently drifts away from it. Space extends as far as the 3D depth allows and as wide and high as the frame around the film. The asteroid field that causes all the problems shows excellent space between the rocks, tangible volume and shape to each of them, and appears appropriately dense but not packed. The ship is small in scale, appropriately, but close-up shots show its interesting shape and volume. Interiors stretch far, revealing the true scale that wasn't quite so obvious in 2D. And even smaller spaces, like the inside of the pod as Jim awakens, are likewise nicely defined in terms of volume and distance between objects. Objects that looked and felt flat in 2D reveal their true shape in 3D; the coffee machine, for example, has a raised panel that stands quite a bit out in front of the icons behind it. On the downside, colors are less rich and dense and details are a bit smoother. The image on the whole is a little bleaker, too. Some shimmering that wasn't apparent on either the Blu-ray or the UHD is introduced here. Look at the thin circular light fixtures in the theater at the 7:35 mark. Waving and jaggies are readily evident and straight lines throughout (some, not all) show similar issues to varying degrees of intensity. However, no major crosstalk effects were noted during review.

UHD:

Passengers was reportedly digitally photographed at a resolution of 6.5K and finished at 4K. And the results speak for themselves. There's no mistaking that the image is so clean and clear that it sometimes almost looks animated, in a way, artificial rather than organic. It goes with the nature of the movie and all of the slick, clean lines around the ship, but some close-ups definitely have a mildly unnatural sheen about them. Still, details under the 2160p presentation are robust, with facial textures -- pores, stubble -- noticeably more complex even without the benefit of direct comparison. But doing just that revels just how much of a leap this is. Even as the image is "digital smooth" in 4K, there's an abundance of textural complexities that practically put the excellent Blu-ray to shame. Take a look at Aurora around the 40:50 mark, sitting alone and dictating her story to a computer. On the Blu-ray, color saturation is actually rather poor in direct comparison, leaving her skin looking garish and, worse, excessively smoothed over. On the UHD, the HDR enhanced colors are much more stable and natural, the lighting reflecting off her skin in a more complimentary, intimate manner and skin textures much more bountiful. Such holds true throughout. The level of refinement in color depth and intimacy of detail is always obvious, with the Blu-ray frequently falling well behind the UHD. It ranges from subtle to drastic and is even obvious beyond skin, going to the ship's various surfaces as well. The increased color saturation is obvious everywhere but nowhere more so than the deep reds and ambers around the bar. Add in Arthur's sharper details and the contrast between the formats is significant.

The only real issue of note was a trace bit of shimmering introduced at about the 52:50 mark on a straight-line light fixture positioned in about the middle of the screen. It stood out like a sore thumb on the UHD but wasn't listed in the notes for the Blu-ray review. It's seen in a seconds-long moment that could have been missed the first time around, but double-checking back on the Blu-ray and the problem isn't there. Also, deep space or shadowy interior black levels might be a hair less rich, but it's a small price to pay for an otherwise reference UHD transfer.

Passengers 4K + 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

1080p Blu-ray/3D:

While Sony's UHD release of Passengers contains a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, the studio's standard Blu-ray release features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack (other studios don't have a problem with this...come on, Sony). That said, the 5.1 track is fine, excellent, really, though even, as with the video quality, as the track excels, there are moments when the opportunity for a greater sound field are obvious. Music is terrific, effortlessly spaced and nuanced where the finest airy notes or the heaviest low end pulses are equally balanced and detailed. Wrap into the back is seamless, too, and the track's immersive benefits are obvious. There's strong transitional heft as the starship lumbers across the screen and through space early on and there's a range of activity as she traverses through that fateful asteroid field. The low end can get a little rattly at the bottom, but the sheer scale and mass more than makes up for it. Additional powerful chaos dots the final act, too, and the track has no problems throwing its weight around. While the Atmos track offers a more aggressive posture and fullness in the biggest action scenes, its in the smaller moments where its would-be benefits seem lacking. Even as ship wide announcements or other larger interior effects like alarms are diffuse about the stage, the 5.1 track can't quite recreate the vastness of the ship's common areas and make the sound seem to emanate from a wider and higher location. Smaller, localized effects fare well, such as swooshing doors or smaller little computer beeps and bloops. Dialogue carries much of the film, and it's reproduced with a lifelike sheen and plays with natural center-front positioning and effortless prioritization even through some of the third act action din.

UHD:

The Atmos soundtrack carries over all of the core characteristics but adds a few features of note. The extra channels -- both around the listener and above -- help to better diffuse sound, whether the shove of the ship as she hurtles through space, intercom addresses, or various big crashes and bangs and general mayhem in the final act. Bass seems a bit bigger and better pronounced, too, more intense and rumbly, though certainly not by any significant margin. The added surround-back channels help to provide a more seamless sound transition while the overhead channels create a greater sense of spatial immersion into the ship's larger areas. Unlike the often significant jump from Passengers' Blu-ray to UHD, the improvements between the dueling DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack and this Atmos presentation are noticeable, but they aren't drastic. It's clearly the superior listen, but it's not a revelation.

Passengers 4K + 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Passengers contains no unique true supplemental content on the UHD disc, but it does include the usual standard-issue Sony collection of categorized Moments (2160p, HDR, Atmos): Jim (11:51), Aurora (20:59), Arthur (7:39), and The Avalon (15:26). The still photo Cast & Crew tab is also included. The 3D disc contains no content beyond the film. All of the extras are featured on the 2D Blu-ray disc. A UV digital copy code is included with purchase.

• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 9:49 total runtime): Note that some supplemental titles may contain spoilers. Included are No New Drinks, Memory Maker, Tacos and Cocktails, Kiss in the Photo Booth, Aurora Finds Jim's Photos, Drunk Dial, Gus Reveals His Past, and Gus Looks for a Solution.
• Casting the Passengers (1080p, 10:39): As the title suggests, this piece looks at the actors who played the key roles and the qualities they brought to the film.
• Space on Screen: The Visual Effects of Passengers (1080p, 7:26): Again as the title suggests, this extra dives into the making of some of the film's key visual effects.
• On the Set with Chris Pratt (1080p, 4:19): While the actor comments on the set during the making of various scenes, additional cast and crew talk up the qualities and characteristics he brought to the set.
• Creating the Avalon (1080p, 9:35): A closer look at the film's spacecraft, from concept to construction, and the role it plays in the film.
• Outtakes from the Set (1080p, 4:23): A gag reel by another name.
• Book Passage (1080p, 4:40): Advertisements for futuristic interstellar travel. Includes Choose Your Star, Dare to Dream, Elite Suites, and A Flight to Remember.
• Previews (1080p): Additional Sony titles.

Passengers 4K + 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Passengers is a good movie that offers an interesting proposition: it demands that the audience both engage the brain and leave the brain at the door. There's some very good exploration here, a fairly deep analysis of the human condition in isolation in its opening act. Act two is much of the same with a big, obvious turning point looming large, and act three is the usual action-oriented turn that's well staged but so predictable it's practically boring and all but erases the first act's excellence from the audience's mind. Still, Passengers makes for a decent watch and a movie that could have been spectacular had the writers let the creative juices flow a bit more freely. Sony's Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, and UHD combo pack offers the best of all worlds. The UHD disc is the standout with the best video and audio of the bunch. The 3D presentation adds some interesting spacial awareness to the movie (shame it wasn't paired with the more spacious Atmos soundtrack), and the Blu-ray is the nuts-and-bolts inclusion and home to all of the supplements. Recommended.