I.S.S. - Movie Review

The Movie: I.S.S.

The Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite

The Cast: Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, John Gallagher Jr., Maria Mashkova, Costa Ronin, Pilou Asbæk

The Story: Tensions flare in the near future aboard the International Space Station as a conflict breaks out on Earth. Reeling, the U.S. and Russian astronauts receive orders from the ground: take control of the station by any means necessary.

The Rating: 6.5 / 10

The Review:

This sci-fi thriller from director Gabriela Cowperthwaite will draw immediate comparisons to films like Gravity and, for me, it was even a little reminiscent of the I.S.S. scenes in Armageddon just because the entire story is set on the iconic space station. While I wouldn't try to compare this movie to either or both of those movies, I consider them to be some of my all time favorites, it does tell a compelling story that is both timely and sort of hearkens back to the days of the cold war which brought the constant threat of nuclear war between the US and Russia during its time.

At the forefront of the story is Ariana DeBose as Dr. Kira Foster who joins the rest of the crew on the space station just as the world is about to change forever. I can safely say without spoiling anything that isn't already discussed in the trailers and other promotional vehicles, that nuclear war on earth sets up an interesting confrontation betwen the two groups of astronauts. DeBose does a great job with her character who gets caught up in all of the sudden espionage and secrecy that comes with such a unique situation.

It's interesting to see how each person reacts and adjusts who they are based on what their mission becomes and it sort of reminds me of the survivalist mentalities that are explored in last year's Korean disaster movie, Concrete Utopia. The special effects work in the movie is also pretty solid which is made a little easier by most of the movie being inside the space station and I'm guessing just about all the effects were practical with some digital stuff being added here and there especially what we see outside the windows.