I.S.S. (2023)

Studio:    Bleecker Street
Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Writer:   Nick Shafir
Producer: Mickey Liddell, Pete Shilaimon
Stars:    Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, John Gallagher Jr., Masha Mashkova, Costa Ronin, Pilou Asbaek

Review Score:

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Summary:

Paranoia turns the American and Russian scientists aboard the International Space Station against each other after nuclear war breaks out between their countries back on Earth.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

After docking their Soyuz rocket transport, Dr. Kira Foster and Christian Campbell join fellow American astronaut Gordon Barrett and Russian researchers Weronika 'Nika' Vetrov, Nicholai Pulov, and Nicholai's brother Alexey aboard the International Space Station. While gazing at Earth, the six scientists witness a devastating nuclear war break out between their two countries.

Before losing communication with Ground Control, Gordon receives a secret order that he is to take control of the ISS "by any means necessary." Nicholai receives a similar command from his own government. Nicholai tells Alexey about the order, and Gordon tells Kira and Christian, but they do not tell each other, which kickstarts a wave of paranoia as everyone considers the possibilities for murder and subterfuge. Meanwhile, system failures initiate a descent toward Earth that will kill everybody if they do not receive aid within 24 hours.

Gordon performs a spacewalk to fix an exterior antenna that Nicholai claims is broken. Nicholai then has Alexey sabotage the American communication system while he uses a crane arm to knock Gordon into space.

Nicholai and Alexey finally tell Nika about their order to take over the station and also confess to stranding Gordon outside to die as part of their plot. Because she was in a romance with Gordon, Nika conspires with Kira to work against her comrades. Nika comes up with a plan to create a distraction while Kira escapes in the Soyuz with Alexey's research, which is reportedly a cure for radiation sickness that will save whichever country recovers it. However, Christian claims no such research exists, and says Nika is supposedly lying to Kira.

Nicholai and Alexey confront Nika as she seemingly prepares to sabotage the station. Thinking she actually intends to kill them all, Christian crushes Nika's head from behind with a metal tank, killing her.

Alexey sees Gordon clinging to a satellite array. Conflicted by his conscience, Alexey uses the crane arm to rescue Gordon.

Nicholai tries to attack Kira and Christian, but Gordon returns in time to rescue them. Distraught over the discovery of Nika's death, Gordon attacks Nicholai. Gordon and Nicholai stab each other to death using the same screwdriver.

Kira discovers Alexey's cure really does exist, but Christian stole it as part of his private plan to escape the station by himself. A physical fight breaks out between Kira, Christian, and Alexey. Kira and Alexey strangle Christian to death.

Kira and Alexey escape the station with Alexey's research aboard the Soyuz rocket. The station's systems come back online, restoring communication with Ground Control, but only after Kira and Alexey leave. The rocket heads toward Earth with Kira and Alexey uncertain of what will happen next.

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Review:

It's funny how the original poster for "I.S.S." prominently proclaimed "Only in Theaters" even though the trailer, premise, and entire production screamed "straight-to-streaming" from the get-go. Not that "straight-to-streaming" ought to automatically trigger a negative impression. In this day and age of boffo-budget superhero epics vs. money pit projects regarded solely as corporate tax write-offs, Hollywood just doesn't put out as many mid-tier thrillers as they used to. Maybe "I.S.S." offers some evidence as to why.

You know the type of B-movie I'm talking about. One that has an intriguing set-up that's still simple enough to summarize in a single sentence. The story stays in a single location to streamline shooting. Appeal comes from a compact cast of "That Guy" actors who aren't household names, although they've previously appeared in titles that are. In fact, if the producers risked dropping down another tick or two on the name recognition meter, "I.S.S." would fully meet the criteria for the sort of skimpy sci-fi flicks that used to regularly debut on VHS back when Blockbuster was still king. Unfortunately for "I.S.S.," the year is no longer 1998, and its meager offerings have a hard time meeting entertainment tastes tailored to the 21st century.

"I.S.S." has an A+ starting point. Three American astronauts are pitted against three Russian cosmonauts after nuclear war breaks out on Earth, and each trio receives secret orders to take control of the International Space Station at all costs.

That's a terrific launchpad for creative minds to run wild with paranoid thrills, claustrophobic chills, and scheming skullduggery on highly imaginative levels. So why does "I.S.S." waste its first 20 minutes on inconsequential small talk, insert shots of crew members uncoiling cables, and the requisite "charming camaraderie" moment of everyone singing "Wind of Change" over dinner? The plot can't go anywhere until it actually starts, and yet "I.S.S." weirdly waits out the opening act before finally shifting out of first gear.

Once it does get out of the gate, momentum stalls immediately, and then again and again at repeated intervals. Part of the problem has to do with vaguely defined stakes for every supposedly harrowing situation.

For instance, one of the earliest attempts at scooting viewers to the edge of their seats involves Chris Messina performing a spacewalk to repair a broken antenna. Music then makes cutaways of Pilou Asbaek preparing to cut a wire seem more dramatic than a serial arsonist preparing to bomb a children's hospital. Messina loses communication with his partner inside the station thanks to that clipped cord, so you just think, okay, yeah, that's not ideal, but so what? He can still do what he's there to do and can still get back inside without a functional headset, so what am I supposed to be biting my nails over?

Here you have six people essentially trapped inside a tin can in outer space, except instead of contracting action to create a pressure cooker, "I.S.S." goes in the opposite direction by expanding its environment. Like a haunted house movie where characters inexplicably separate to impractical distances that should be impossible with any realistic building design, the space station somehow becomes as big as Babylon 5. People hide. People steal things without anyone seeing. People do things without anyone hearing. How does director Gabriela Cowperthwaite expect to create breathtaking tension when the script gives the station expansive dimensions that aren't even remotely restrictive?

You also have the space station plummeting toward the planet, and everyone aboard will die if they don't receive rescue within 24 hours, yet that threat never has the intended effect of establishing a ticking time bomb worth worrying about. It's astonishing that "I.S.S." includes nuclear war, assassination attempts, secret formulas for saving Earth from radiation poisoning, and enough double-crosses and backstabs for a "Mission: Impossible" sequel and still, at no time does "I.S.S." ever generate authentic suspense because we're never shown what we should care about, let alone given a reason why we would.

It's weird that I started watching "I.S.S." under a pretense of, Hollywood doesn't make small thrillers like this anymore and they used to be everywhere. Now I'm left thinking "I.S.S." doesn't make a great case for bringing back the $10 million movie. Maybe "I.S.S." would have been better off limited to one hour as an ordinary episode of "The Outer Limits" revival it emulates. At least then it would have been right where it belongs in a 1990s niche of disposable Sunday nights on Syfy.

Review Score: 40

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