Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Passengers (2008)

 

Passengers is a 2008 movie starring Anne Hathaway and Patrick Wilson (not to be confused with the 2016 movie starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence). This was one of the movies that Hathaway used to distance herself from the Disney role that launched her to fame as it took on a much more adult theme. She still was not as big a star when this movie came out as she is now (although she had done Devil Wears Prada, Brokeback Mountain, and Get Smart by the time this was released, so she was certainly on the rise and headed toward A-List stardom), which I think helped the film overall. It had a relatively small ensemble cast of mainly character actors, including David Morse, Clea DuVall, and Andre Braugher, and the two leads (Hathaway and Wilson) who were not megastars. As a result, I think the relationships between the various felt authentic.

The story involves Hathway's character, Claire, acting as a grief counselor for the survivors of an airplane crash. It starts with her trying to help them through the trauma and then turns into a thriller where she is trying to uncover the truth about the events surrounding the crash and whether the airline was covering it up and killing off the remaining survivors. Along the way, Hathaway and Wilson's characters end up in a relationship, crossing the ethical boundaries of her role as a therapist. The story has quite a few twists and turns that you may or may not see coming.

For those who get the Blu-ray, the movie looks and sounds great. For extras, there are a couple making-of featurettes and a few deleted scenes. There is also a commentary track on the movie with the director, Rodrigo Garcia, and Patrick Wilson. While there is not a ton of bonus content, what was included is good. While the movie was not a blockbuster and is not very well known, it is definitely worth checking out and makes for an enjoyable hour and a half.