**This post contains spoilers**
The Story- Dr. Kira Foster (Ariana DeBose) arrives at the International Space Station, joining Commander Gordon Barrett (Chris Messina) and Christian Campbell (John Gallagher Jr.) to complete the team of NASA astronauts. Kira, Gordon, and Christian share the ISS with cosmonauts Alexey Pulov (Pilou Asbaek), Nicholai Pulov (Costa Ronin), and Weronika Vetrov (Masha Mashkova), while conducting experiments and trying to maintain a peaceful relationship.
But the harmony between both crews is disrupted, when a series of big explosions spreads throughout the United States. Russia uses nuclear weapons to attack the US, and Gordon receives an order to take control of the ISS by any means necessary. Assuming the cosmonauts received identical orders, Gordon, Christian, and Kira have tough decisions to make about how to handle their unprecedented dilemma.
My Thoughts- All of the performances in I.S.S. follow a similar pattern. Everyone is on edge, extremely stressed, and paranoid about trusting each other. It’s understandable, because there’s a strong possibility the crew just witnessed the beginning of WW III, and the decisions they’re forced to make could have a direct impact on the future of the world.
The performances are solid all around, with Ariana DeBose and Pilou Asbaek emerging as the two stars in the cast. Everything seems fine at first. Sure, there’s some tension between Gordon and Alexey, when Gordon makes a bad joke. But you get the feeling the cosmonauts and the astronauts are a happy family that learned to accept each other and their differences over time.
The entire cast did a fantastic job with intense and emotional performances and great facial expressions. It’s also worth pointing out that the astronauts and cosmonauts are not too thrilled about the possibility of having to murder each other. Alexey and Nicholai’s reactions to setting a trap for Gordon is a good example of the conflict they’re facing. No one on the ISS is a gleeful bloodthirsty killer. On both sides, their actions are motivated by loyalty to their respective countries, the bonds they have with each other, and of course the fear of certain death.
Kira making it out alive as one of the survivors wasn’t a big shock. You can see it coming, because she’s the newbie with a good moral compass. Alexey joining her as a survivor was a bit of a surprise, but it’s not a complete shock. Alexey’s mindset changed after the attempt to get rid of Gordon, and his reaction to Nicholai making the decision to hunt down and kill Kira and Christian. Christian secretly planning to return to earth alone, while leaving Kira and Alexey stranded on the ISS? If you pay close attention, you can see Christian unraveling as the story develops. So the strong possibility for Christian taking the opportunity to look out for himself at some point was always there.
The ending? Oh, it’s something else. Weronika is dead after Christian killed her. Nicholai and Gordon killed each other in a fight, because Gordon miraculously returned and snapped after he learned about Weronika’s (Weronika and Gordon were in a relationship) death. Kira and Alexey teamed up to kill Christian, and they managed to escape the falling ISS together. The important tidbit for the finale is, Alexey and Kira are taking Alexey’s research for radiation poisoning back to earth, the same research Christian tried to steal. On top of that, it’s possible Alexey might’ve found the cure to radiation poisoning.
Alexey wants to know what’s next and where will they go after everything they’ve been through. Kira’s response? “I don’t know,” and the credits start to roll. Huh? A nuclear attack happened, and both sides failed to take control of the ISS. Alexey’s research is a golden ticket that could also be used as leverage against their governments, if the US or Russia wants to respond with harsh punishments for the two survivors. And who knows what kind of planet they’re returning to? The nuclear devastation could’ve destroyed most of what they remember, turning earth into a post apocalyptic wasteland.
But this ending just didn’t work for me. Alexey or Kira could’ve dropped a hint or two about what they were planning, when they got back to earth. I can understand both characters just survived a traumatic ordeal. They need time to process everything, but they could’ve at least went with something more concrete over “I don’t know.”
I.S.S. works as a claustrophobic and tense sci-fi thriller, fueled by the paranoia of being stranded in outer space, and not being able to fully trust the people around you. The only big problem for me is the ending. It’s flat, disappointing, and the ending just sucks the life right out of the movie. It’s the kind of ending, where I genuinely don’t understand why they would choose to go that route, if they didn’t firmly plan on making a sequel.
Rating-5/10
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