The Reel Review
Imagine a reversed engineered version of 2015’s The Martian, only instead of Matt Damon figuring out how to survive alone on Mars using recycled poop to grow plants, we have a young scientist (Margaret Qualley) eeking out an existence while trying to save a rapidly dying Earth. (Looks like all those warnings about climate change were true, non-believers!) She’s doing this as most Earthlings have already fled, Battlestar Galactica style (but not shown – this is a low budget film, after all), to a new life orbiting Jupiter’s moon, Io, hence the otherwise misleading title of this Netflix sci-fi film. Io’s only “appearance” is a brief CGI-generated shot of the moon and Jupiter.
The first several minutes of the film sells the whole “living in isolation” bit with Qualley (HBO’s The Leftovers) calmly puttering around her father’s research lab/home, filled with set pieces that look like remnants snatched from either the set of The Martian or the local IKEA. When a stranger (Anthony Mackie) mysteriously stops by via hot air balloon en route to catch the last shuttle to Io, the duo skulk around for the next hour, quoting poetry, looking at art in abandoned museums and exchanging pensive looks as they debate whether to take the last shuttle bound for Io. Seriously, why would you NOT go? At least the film’s visuals are nice and the score is well done, because this flick is one colossally boring snooze fest. Perhaps the writers meant to compensate for their lack of a special effects budget by crafting a deep and meaningful story, but instead it comes off as silly, pretentious drivel that will have you rooting for a quick and merciful demise.
REEL FACTS
• Elle Fanning and Diego Luna (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) were originally cast but dropped out prior to filming in 2016.
• Margaret Qualley, who is the daughter of actress Andie MacDowell and was a regular in the HBO series The Leftovers, will next appear in the Quentin Tarentino film Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
• Anthony Mackie, a graduate of Julliard, is best known for his role as Falcon in Marvel’s Ant-Man, Captain America and Avengers films
Video & Photo
