Over-acting is endemic. Quaid can’t do much with his very limited role, and Foster seems miscast.
Comment
09/28/09
Pandorum (2009)
28
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:69
Fresh:19
Rotten:50
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
Remember the scene in Star Trek where Dr. McCoy talks about all the horrible ways you can die in space? Pandorum is basically a visual aid for that speech.
09/28/09
According to the press notes, pandorum means “Orbital Dysfunctional Syndrome”; whatever that is, by the end of the movie I was convinced I had caught it.
09/27/09
Top CriticA grizzled Quaid and an intense Foster do their best to keep straight faces, but this is not an effort likely to figure prominently on their resumes.
09/27/09
As always, Foster sells the hell out of his role but non-sci-fi fans may well themselves be driven mad long before the end.
09/27/09
The sort of thing that makes you wish you were playing a video game instead.
09/27/09
Quaid and Foster spend far too much time trying to figure out what’s going on, but audiences are liable to respond only with a dispirited “Who cares?”
09/27/09
It's Alien meets The Descent in the new film Pandorum. It's a case of been there, done that. But does Pandorum manage to do it better?
09/26/09
follows Scott's Alien blueprint to a T but turns things up to 11
09/26/09
Christian Alvart lays on the symbolism in this oppressive, captivating galactic thriller
09/25/09
Take Ben Foster, have him walk slowly down a dark corridor and see something or someone in the distance, then either have him fall flat on his face, or get a butt-whippin'. Repeat approximately twenty times
09/25/09
Lazily derivative.
09/25/09
Top CriticThroughout, some obvious questions pop up immediately.
09/25/09
If sci-fi is your thing, you could do worse.
09/25/09
The further Bower journeys into the spacecraft's bowels, with Payton providing navigation tips from back in their original sleep chamber, the less Pandorum unnerves.
09/25/09
Cobbled together from chunks of Battlestar Galactica, The Descent, Serenity, Cube, Resident Evil, Event Horizon and Alien ... Pandorum is an efficient scare machine if you ignore the plot contrivances.
09/25/09
Alvart's cynicism about the current state of mankind helps make futuristic Pandorum interesting, but what makes it fun is his evident enthusiasm and talent for exploring the conventions of sci-fi films.
09/25/09
Director Christian Alvart and screenwriter Travis Malloy must have seen Aliens in the cradle, for they’ve digested it with love and delivered smart thrills that will please more than genre fans.
09/25/09
It's a tight, minimalist Alien-esque "something is loose and hunting people on our space ship" picture that is as claustrophobic as you'd expect, if not quite as paranoid as you might hope.
09/25/09
What does Pandorum mean? I think it is Latin for stinky movie.
09/25/09
Latest 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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