I.S.S. is directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite and stars Ariana DeBose, John Gallagher Jr, Pilou Asbaek, Chris Messina, Masha Mashkova, and Costa Ronin. The film follows American and Russian astronauts working toward common goals aboard the International Space Station. When a nuclear conflict between the two countries breaks out on Earth, both teams of astronauts are ordered to take control of the station by any means necessary. Due to conflicting loyalties between humanity and duty, each crew member responds to their orders differently. What ensues is a game of cat & mouse where their biggest priority becomes making it out of the situation alive.  

The performances here are all quite serviceable, but this isn’t the kind of film that provides a lot of insightful character work. The movie jumps so quickly into the drama of everything that we’re left to wonder who these people are or what they’ll do. Ariana DeBose’s character receives the most focus, but even then, we don’t know anything about who she is as a person. The thing is, that seems to be the point. Exposition is sacrificed, but it helps to heighten the tension. For example, Quentin Tarantino stated that his original idea for The Hateful Eight (2015) was that it would be a sequel to Django Unchained (2012) with Jamie Foxx reprising his role as Django. Tarantino realized during the writing process that his intention for the audience to distrust every single character was compromised by including Django, a character that the audience already knows. They would inherently trust Django, and therefore prematurely know that he is the hero of the story. By not giving us too much insight into who these characters are, I.S.S. heightens its tension significantly. The true standout here has to be Pilou Asbaek as one of the Russian astronauts. He’s quiet but conveys so much pain and regret in his physical expressions that I was able to connect with him more than any other character. John Gallagher Jr. is likewise fun to see and gives a well-rounded performance. He’s great in everything I see him in. Hollywood should take advantage of his talents more often.

The film has a fair amount of these kinds of elements that simultaneously improve the film and detract from it. The setting is cramped and sterile, but it once again adds to the tension. On the more negative side of things, it makes the setting seem static and a bit boring. The film does a great job of subverting your expectations for this kind of thriller but ends things on the least subversive note you can think of. It’s almost as if the unoriginal ending stands out more due to all of its subversive lead-up. It’s the type of movie that puts you directly into the flames and then ends with a spark instead of the other way around. What helps the film is its tight pace. It only runs about 95 minutes, and the moment you start to get fatigued is exactly when the film wraps things up. This is unapologetically a B movie, and B movies are about having fun. If something is fun, it doesn’t overstay its welcome. We just want “the goods” and that should never take longer than 105 minutes. Granted, calling this film “fun” might be misleading. This is an intense and dark thriller that’s not made for the audience so it can put smiles on their faces. This is “fun” in the sense that it’s effective. In today’s Hollywood, it’s fun to simply receive exactly what was marketed. That’s becoming a rarer and rarer occurrence. 

What annoyed me about the movie is the fact that it falls into the common trap of making these top-tier scientist characters completely immature. They are supposed to be the most well-trained and intelligent people in the world, but drop all of that training and discipline at the first sign of trouble. That’s exactly when their training matters! I understand that perfect characters and perfect actions would lead to a boring story, but that’s not an excuse to avoid finding more complex and intelligent ways in which they might forsake their training.   

Overall, this is an efficient and effective thriller that will play best to audiences that were intrigued by the trailer to begin with. The film has a nice amount of unexpected moments but fails to bring everything together in a way that feels cohesive. There are just certain character and motivation elements that need to be fleshed out better. It owes a lot of inspiration to films like Alien (1979) and Danny Boyle’s Sunshine (2007) in the idea that there’s a darkness to space not just in its appearance, but in its terrifying danger and loneliness. If you’re not uncomfortable with this kind of impending dread, you’ll find I.S.S. to be an effective thriller. If you like to nitpick logic or are drawn to material that is a bit lighter, I’d avoid this. For me, it was a decent enough time. B-