When people ask me about my favorite movie types, I usually say something cliché like "I enjoy every kind of film." While that’s true, I do have a preference for sci-fi and other genres. I find sci-fi to be a very imaginative form of filmmaking because of the endless possibilities it offers. From life beyond Earth to exploring deep space, we know so little about what's out there, which makes the genre ideal for creating unique stories. *Voyagers* has an interesting cast, but Neil Burger directed the disappointing film *Divergent*, so I went in with very low hopes. Even expecting a bad movie, I didn’t think *Voyagers* would be among the worst of the year. The basic idea isn't particularly original, even with its spin on the "colonization of another planet" concept—it’s familiar because it has worked before. But it doesn’t work here. A group of young people raised separately from Earth could have had an inventive and interesting story arc, but instead, they follow a very generic and dull path of character development. The chaos caused by one person – who seems to embody all the problems in our society – feels incredibly forced and ridiculous. The film even raises logical questions about its premise. It's obvious that people can grow up with identical education and values yet still develop distinct personalities. However, Burger doesn’t explain why some characters question authority and their purpose. Everything happens because it needs to happen for the plot; a character does something illogical simply because the story requires it. Much of the development comes through childish conversations where someone repeatedly asks "why?" to another person who has an answer ready. Burger's screenplay barely holds together due to its lack of anything exciting. From a misleading subplot to a predictable main storyline, this movie offers no surprises at all. The choppy and abrupt editing (Naomi Geraghty) turns an already difficult viewing experience into something irritating. Adding strange, nonsensical imagery of random life events at odd points in the film makes *Voyagers* hard to enjoy. With no flow between scenes, the main mission is lost early on, and the characters fail to develop any meaningful arcs. It's almost comical how Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark in *Game of Thrones*) continues a pattern of being underutilized in movies and TV shows. Unfortunately, even the cast can’t save this disaster. Tye Sheridan (*Dark Phoenix*), Lily-Rose Depp (*Crisis*), and Fionn Whitehead (*Dunkirk*) try their best with the poor scripts, but some of the line deliveries are truly awkward. Colin Farrell's (*The Gentlemen*) character suffers from one of Burger's many bad decisions, ending up as another forgettable part of the film. The end comes too quickly, which highlights how rushed the pacing is. I usually look for positives in the story and characters when I’m struggling to find anything good about a movie. Sadly, *Voyagers* is one of those rare films set in a single location that doesn't feel suspenseful or claustrophobic, despite some attempts to create that feeling. From the ordinary score (Trevor Gureckis) to the standard camera work (Enrique Chediak), there’s nothing I can appreciate as being particularly good. The spaceship set design looks futuristic enough, but it's nothing viewers haven't seen before. *Voyagers* takes a well-known sci-fi formula and puts it through an uninteresting and frustratingly generic development process. Neil Burger's screenplay fails to deliver a creative or captivating story with memorable characters, offering the opposite instead. From the terrible editing to the lazy plot, along with awkward dialogues and random, irrelevant imagery, it’s hard to find anything positive about this empty film. Even though most of the movie takes place in one location, the suspense is close to zero. The themes are obvious from the start, but almost every plot point or character action feels forced. The set design is the only technical aspect worthy of praise. Not even a talented cast can overcome the poor scripts. It's a contender for one of the worst films of the year. Rating: D-

Source on TMDB