Pandorum (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:66
Fresh:18
Rotten:48
Average Rating:4.2/10
Consensus: While it might prove somewhat satisfying for devout sci-fi fans, Pandorum's bloated, derivative plot ultimately leaves it drifting in space.
Australian Rating: TBC
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Australian Theatrical Release:
Oct 8, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $10,261,085
Synopsis: In Pandorum, actors, Dennis Quaid (Vantage Point, The Express) and Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma, Alpha Dog), join Cam Gigandet (Never Back Down, Twilight), Cung Le (Tekken, Fighting), newcomer Antje... [More]
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Ben Foster, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue
Director: Christian Alvart
Reviews for Pandorum
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
 0/4 |
An unusually unpleasant and unwatchable sci-fi endeavor... Full Review |
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1/5 |
Clenches its teeth grimly as it blunders through its overstuffed plot. Full Review |
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2.5/4 |
too much of the film devolves into hectic action sequences that makes you feel like someone suddenly dropped you into a blender and turned out all the lights Full Review |
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 3/4 |
An intensely effective sci-fi chiller, mainly thanks to its canny set and sound design, and its constant, relentless sense of dread and tension. Full Review |
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3/5 |
Provides some very intense, memorable chills. Full Review |
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2/5 |
flirts with greatness with an impressive first half filled with thrills and solid pacing but it stumbles in its more action-oriented second half. Full Review |
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2/5 |
Pandorum is a hodge-podge of familiar sci-fi stuff, which feels as if it were adapted from a computer game. Full Review |
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2/5 |
Alvart achieves a strong sense of scale, but characters and ideas are lost amid a mess of fight scenes that, oddly, look like outtakes from ‘The Descent’. Full Review |
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2/5 |
Pandorum's insistence on action sequence after action sequence, reveal after reveal, tension upon tension deadens the effect any of it might have had in a more gracefully developed narrative. Full Review |
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3/5 |
Pandorum is less a story than a prolonged bout of paranoid hysterics, exuberantly played out on metal gangplanks and inside Stygian tunnels. As such, it works just fine. Full Review |
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Murky both literally and figuratively. Full Review |
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3/5 |
Riffing on Alien, Sunshine and Resident Evil, the German director Alvart finds an effective balance between action-excitement and psychological chills. Full Review |
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2/5 |
There are some well-executed sequences, but the story makes nothing but a mess of its borrowed ideas. Full Review |
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Pandorum is dumb, noisy fun. Its flaws are inoffensive inasmuch as Alvart doesn’t give off Anderson’s noxious vibe of insincerity. Full Review |
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2/5 |
Pandorum is neither schlocky enough to be an enjoyable genre flick, nor smart enough to provoke any original thoughts. Full Review |
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3/5 |
It’s a competent if unoriginal adventure but you do wish Alvart had had the courage of his convictions to go with the Pandorum idea rather bowing to the pressure of convention and basically resetting The Descent in space. Full Review |
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2/5 |
After two hours in the dark with this loud but hollow hybrid, you’ll know “space madness”. In a good year for smart sci-fi, Pandorum lumbers and groans. Full Review |
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0/5 |
It might make a passable video game. Despite expensive production design, as a movie it is pretty much unwatchable. Full Review |
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2/5 |
Derivative but mostly just dull, what we have here is an entertainment blackhole able to suck all joy out of a trip to the cinema. Full Review |
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1/5 |
Do yourself a favour and keep the lid of Pandorum's box firmly closed. Full Review |
CommentLatest News for Pandorum
September 24, 2009:
Stalked on a Spaceship! 10 Films Anticipating Pandorum
For critics, Pandorum has been like an alien in the ventilation shafts -- it's on the radar, heading towards them, but they just can't see it, no matter how hard they try. The... More...
September 24, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Surrogates Is A Passable Thriller
This week at the movies, we've got robot clones (Surrogates, starring Bruce Willis and Radha Mitchell), artistic-minded freshmen (Fame, starring Kelsey Grammer and Megan... More...
September 22, 2009:
Dennis Quaid Talks Pandorum, G.I. Joe Sequel 
Between trying to spark a space horror revival with "Pandorum," reminiscing about the lost cut of "Enemy Mine," and pledging his support for "G.I. Joe 2," Dennis Quaid had... More...
February 21, 2009:
Just another Event Horizon?
More...
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