Director: Neil Burger
Writer: Neil Burger
Stars: Colin Farrell, Tye Sheridan, Lily-Rose Depp, Fionn Whitehead
In the year 2063, the Earth is slowly becoming uninhabitable and so a crew is assembled, by surrogate father named Richard (played by Colin Farrell), to travel to another planet to check for viability. The length of the journey spans 86 years, so participants are created rather than procured, formed from the finest DNA and grown in a lab. As they journey far into their quest, a shocking discovery is made: the crew is being drugged. A blue liquid they’re told to take daily is revealed to be a cocktail of chemicals aimed at subduing their impulses. By removing the ability to feel or desire fear, excitement, or sexual urges, so the crew are more effective at achieving their mission. Almost all will be dead before they reach their destination, so they have been designed to reproduce at timed intervals. All things are thrown into disarray though, when two members decide to stop taking the blue liquid. Writer Neil Burger who directed the first installment of the “Divergent” series, has crafted a story here that re-stages “Lord of the Flies” on a cramped spaceship full of horny teens.
The story I felt started off quite slow, but it does take traction eventually. It begins when crisis takes hold, and Christopher (played by Tye Sheridan) and his buddy Zac (played by Fionn Whitehead) stop taking “the blue” and for the first time experience the surge of testosterone in their bodies. As they charge down the ship’s corridors or wrestle in the gym, their still-narcotized crew look on in amazement. When episodes of violence or uninvited sexual advances start occurring, Richard reminds them of the rules. But the thrill of breaking those rules has already taken root.
Things start to get a whole lot more interesting when Richard and Christopher suit up and go outside to repair an external transmitter and an incident takes the most responsible adult on board out of the equation. The crew deem it necessary to choose a new chief officer, but the election of Christopher doesn’t sit well with the aggressive Zac. He convinces other team members to stop taking “The Blue” and start ignoring their designated responsibilities. He gathers followers in a group and spreads paranoia about an alien threat while undermining Christopher’s attempts to instill order all while trying to hit on Sela (played by Lily-Rose Depp).
Sheridan and Whitehead do well in the commanding the screen, especially Whitehead who plays the villain to a high degree of evilness. I have to give a honorable mention to Lily-Rose Depp, who does well to create such an alluring character in Sela.
Neil Burger’s script is intriguing enough replicating a society torn apart by lies and fears, with the right amount of escalating chaos and violence to keep his viewers engaged.