A Reel Review: EUROPA REPORT

 

The filmmakers behind the sci-fi exploration film EUROPA REPORT deserve major credit for putting forth such an earnest effort in their presentation. Working closely with NASA engineers, director Sebastian Cordero and his crew sought to put together one of the most realistic and accurate representations of deep-space travel. That is the backdrop for the story of EUROPA REPORT; a story which falls less than a light-year short of its presentation.

When unmanned probes suggest that an ocean underneath the surface of Europa (one of Jupiter’s moons) may contain life, a privately funded space exploration company sends six astronauts out to discover the truth.

The framework of EUROPA REPORT is a post-mission report by the Earth-bound support team who guide us through the steps of the mission. They do so by presenting us footage from the seemingly millions of surveillance cameras and flight recorders all over the ship. It’s essentially BLAIR WITCH in space, and for the most part it works. Director Sebastian Cordero comes up with clever methods and reasons for cameras and recorders to be present, and there is never a moment when you are second-guessing why a camera would be there capturing everything. Cordero fills the lens with some stunning cinematography, and a few sequences including a harrowing spacewalk and a nail-biting landing are superb. Overall, the presentation of EUROPA REPORT is solid and never leaves any gaps.

However, the gaps that do appear are in the film’s overall story. With such a limited frame for our brave characters to explore, there is no room for any real drama or character development. Dialogue is limited to mission parameters or scientific jargon, and nobody is given the chance to engage each other to any sort of conflict or drama. We eventually find out that characters are feeling the pressure of a year-long voyage because they stare at the camera and tell us…revealing a very weak script and a paper-thin A to Z story with very little meat on the bone. The thin plot is familiar enough to become frustratingly predictable as things eventually go awry and crew members begin to bite the dust one-by-one.

Acting is a tad frustrating because everyone does very well with their limited material, and you can’t help to feel that you would have liked to have seen them do more. The cast is mostly unknown, with Sharlto Copley being the biggest name. Copley winds up criminally underused and might as well have stayed on Earth. The rest of the cast, including Christain Camargo, Embeth Davidtz, Anamaria Marinca, Michael Nyqvist, Daniel Wu, Karolina Wydra, and Dan Fogler are all fine.

The finale wraps up the thin plot nice and tight and brings about a clever resolution to the overall mission. It unfortunately can be seen from a lunar mile away, and loses a lot of impact after the reveal. It’s difficult to be so harsh on EUROPA REPORT because of the effort put forth to stay real in this current age of spectacle-heavy filmmaking, but ultimately the film proves that your content has to live up to your presentation.

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it