Passengers (2008) User Reviews

Dead & Buried

[Abominog · 7/10 · 26 December 2008]

I thoroughly enjoyed Passengers, its moving (and rather sad) story, strong emotional impact, beautiful photography and convincing performances, especially when it comes to the part of Hathaway. Some minor flaws (slow pace at times and a number of questions left unanswered) can be easily forgiven.

But I made a terrible mistake to read the IMDb comments before watching this film. Even if those reviews are mostly accurate and do not expressly reveal the truth behind the mysterious events on the screen, the suggested references to other movies that may (or may not) be inspirational for the creators have significantly diminished effect of the surprise ending.

I can easily name at least half a dozen of titles dealing with similar subject matter, but it may be difficult to guess what is actually going on until the punchline, unless you are "tuned to a specific station" from the very beginning and know what to expect.

Do yourself a favor - watch the film with an unbiased attitude, read the comments afterwards.

A decent drama, but not really a "horror-thriller"

[doug-697 · 7/10 · 26 October 2008]

I enjoyed this movie, but you need to be wary about how it's being described as a drama- horror-thriller. It's far more a drama than thriller, and I can't think of any horror elements in it at all. I don't want to give any of the movie away, so I'd like to describe what might make it more likely that you'd enjoy it.

Passengers concentrates on character development and primarily on Claire Summer (Anne Hathaway), a therapist who suspects she's discovered a cover-up while treating the survivors of an airplane crash, but also deals with her awakening to the reality that she's sacrificed too much personal life for her career. Her loneliness is as important to this movie as the mystery she's trying to unravel.

I liked Hathaway in this role. I wouldn't normally have thought of her as playing the part of a professional woman with two Masters degrees, as she usually conveys beauty and warmth instead of intellect. However, she's portraying a young academic on her first real-world case and she's convincing when she spouts the predictable, psychobabble an inexperienced therapist would likely spout. I also liked her relationship with her mentor Perry (Andre Braugher). The only weakness in the film might be insufficient scenes exploring her loneliness. It's the reason she gets involved with Eric (Patrick Wilson) but it should have been set up better. I'm not sure we're entirely convinced she would have gotten involved with him. Her isolation from family and friends should have been developed more.

It's not a great movie, but I did enjoy it, and I don't find the complaints I've heard about the movie credible; that it's slow and derivative. North Americans have developed such short attention spans, "slow" often only means there's not a car crash every few minutes. Yes, it's derivative, but so is Eagle Eye, a film currently doing very well at the box-office, which is obscenely derivative, but it doesn't seem to bother anyone since it's loaded with car crashes and other mindless action. (Eagle Eye is also appallingly dumb!)

If you're looking for a drama with some elements of suspense which takes it's characters seriously, then I would recommend it.

Very watchable, just not a masterpiece.

[nielsboex · 6/10 · 5 January 2009]

I'd like to start off by saying I began watching this movie with a little suspicion, because I checked the ratings here and they weren't really high.

Well, my suspicion wasn't necessary. This movie isn't all about action, explosions and that sort of things. What is does have is a heart, it shows the bond between people and it explains why that bond takes place. Just not in a corny way, this is more of a mix between real-life personalities, suspension, and a big plot-twist at the end kind of like Hitchcock did back in the days. Just not that elaborate. Some comments on this movie say that it lacks originality, but what movie doesn't do that these days ? Almost everything has already been done over and over again.

As concerns the quality of acting, it's just good. Nothing more but certainly nothing less. It's nice to see Anne Hathaway play a different sort of role, besides comedy. Her co-star Patrick Wilson also performs on a high wire. Andre Braugher and David Morse are good at supporting roles and thats is simply what they did in this one. You can't say that the acting wasn't good, therefore I feel sorry that it hasn't been properly promoted because it would have had some potential to getting to be a popular movie.

Conclusion: Like I said in the beginning, it's good, just not a masterpiece. I suggest you watch it and go with the flow, you won't regret it.

If you're an Ann Fan it is worth a shot

[Rusbuc1985 · 6/10 · 25 October 2008]

Since there was no publicity for this film, my expectations for it were pretty low.

It has a slow pace and at times things don't make sense, but they do as the story moves forward. You just have to give it time.

At times it doesn't quite work and in a way doesn't break much new ground, but Ann gives a low key performance that I liked.

And the film did make me think about my life and what it is like to deal with death in sudden fashion, like a plane crash. Don't think they'll be showing this one as an in-flight movie.

I've heard that Sony kept this film quiet so it wouldn't interfere with the Oscar buzz Ann Hathaway's getting for Rachel Getting Married. Which makes sense, but I feel bad for all the people that worked on the film. They must feel abandoned by the studio.

just passable but with strong acting‏

[antoniotierno · 6/10 · 17 December 2008]

A film where only cast makes the difference, in fact without the skills of Patrick Wilson and Anne Hathaway "Passengers" would have just been a melodramatic mess. This isn't certainly a very original or scary film (although reminds a lot "The 6th Sense" and "The others"), but it's not the worst either, due to some interesting twists. Anne Hathaway is a talented actress and gets to make feel her fear and frustration. She got chemistry with Wilson and they end up being plausible by complementing one another. "Passengers" is not a movie I would strongly recommend but the shocking finale and some good acting performances make a decent (barely decent actually) choice for an evening rental.

Early promise fades

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 21 July 2014]

Claire Summers (Anne Hathaway) is a young therapist assigned by her mentor Perry (Andre Braugher) to counsel the five survivors of a horrendous plane crash with 109 on board. Eric Clark (Patrick Wilson) is feeling a little too good. Shannon (Clea DuVall), Dean (Ryan Robbins), Janice (Chelah Horsdal) and Norman (Don Thompson) have varying recollections including an explosion. Mr. Arkin (David Morse) is from the airlines who insists it's pilot's error and not an explosion. Toni (Dianne Wiest) is her nosy neighbor. Eric is having nightmares and tells Claire to contact her sister Emma who he should not know about. Claire is fascinated with him. The survivors start disappearing. She starts falling for Eric.

There is murky moody mystery with supernatural undertones in this that is sort of interesting. The early promise slows down to a crawl as the movie turns to the romantic angle. I just lose the general direction of the movie. It doesn't build on the early tension. The sense of paranoia doesn't get raised. Director Rodrigo García simply fails to ramp up the movie. There is no excuse with so many great compelling actors around. Then the last 30 minutes try to re-engage but it culminates in an unsatisfying ending that is done way too much anyways.

A very good watch

[rstone-27 · 19 December 2008]

Though there are similarities in this film to others, ie... not completely original... it is a very good, very touching movie. It has its moments of intensity, its greatness in the acting and directing. Its not a classic, but with all of the mediocre works that are out there to take your money, this is one that would NOT be a waste of your time.

I would highly recommend this film if you are into suspense, drama, intrigue of any nature.

There are certain aspects that are left open, but so minor that it doesn't distract from the impact of the movie.

All in all -- a very good watch.

6 out of 10

Interesting, thought-provoking movie...

[christine_devries · 7/10 · 23 September 2009]

I liked this movie. I like the whole, 'elemental humanity' that you find in it. It is possible to identify with the characters and the universality of the movie. It really is a bit of a psychological thriller which I like. The only thing is that, after watching it, you may get a little depressed. The ending is completely unexpected, I must say. It made the movie completely worth it, when at times it would just get really confusing out of no where. I definitely thought it was worth seeing. I love movies that invoke an emotional response. The twists and turns will keep you guessing and you may get more out of it than you expected. Happy watching.

The 7th bloody sense! With Anne Hathaway!

[siderite · 5/10 · 30 August 2009]

I hate this kind of movies and I seem to stumble upon them again and again. It must be because any mention of the actual idea of the movie spoils it beyond watching, so all the reviews or descriptions I read are vague and trying to find the interesting parts rather than the bland, stupid, cheated truth: SHE WAS DEAD!

I mean, it's not that there is anything important or well done in the movie, it's that they change the rules as they go. In the end, the viewer cannot possibly feel anything but lied to. You construct one's reality, you suspend disbelief and then you pop the hidden camera: "Smile, everything you've watched is a random thing that made no sense and we kind of fooled you. Surprise!".

And even if I try to move past this annoying and ridiculous pretense of making movies (who does actually enjoy this?!) the film itself was completely uninteresting. It wasn't bad, it wasn't good, it was a complete waste of my time. Anne Hathaway's name in the cast should have said something to me, but at least her movies appealed to my wife occasionally.

Bottom line: "I feel cheated and betrayed, doctor, what do you recommend?" "Stay away from plot less movies and you should be fine!"

Supernatural thriller with phenomenal main cast , as Hathaway and Wilson

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 27 September 2008]

The picture concerns on a young psychologist named Claire ( Anne Hathaway ), she is a solitary and with no experience therapist and befriends only her neighbor ( Dianne West ). When takes place an accident , Claire is commissioned by her preceptor( Andre Braugher) to counsel the plane's survivors ( Clea DuVall, among others ) who suffer post-traumatic stress. Then she develops a special attraction to one of them named Eric ( Patrick Wilson ). She thinks Eric bears extra-senses perception as he knows events about her life , her sister , kind of coffee.. Claire falls in love with him and trespasses the prohibited ethic line between therapist-patient relationship . Mysterious events are happening when strange characters seem to be attempting the records about the survivors from the flight's crash to be forgotten . As the passengers disappear mysteriously and appear spontaneously other sinister characters who are chasing them . Claire suspects a dark conspiracy from airline chief ( David Morse ) but he is besieged by maintenance problems and she wants to uncover the truth.

This supernatural drama packs suspense, thrills, a love story, and emotion, however it is sometimes slow-moving . Thanks to mystery and excellent casting , with a magnificent starring duo , it manages to be at least an entertaining thriller movie , in spite of being occasionally a little bit boring . It's a crossover of various movies as ¨Final destination¨, ¨The forgotten ¨ and ¨The sixth sense¨ , taking parts here and there . It contains a sensational and suspenseful musical score by Edward Shearmur . Cinematography glitters as cold and metallic and shot in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada. The motion picture is professionally directed by Rodrigo Garcia, son of Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez . Rodrigo is an expert on drama such as proved in ¨ Nine lives ¨ and ¨ Things you can tell just by looking at her ¨ . Rating : Good film though drags in some places . Well worth watching.

I should have followed my gut and bailed out early

[BibChr · 3/10 · 4 June 2010]

I really regret the time I spent watching this movie.

I'm actually a very forgiving viewer, willing to accept a movie on its own terms; and I like Ann Hathaway and David Morse a lot, other things being equal. They weren't equal. From the very start, Hathaway's character is acting so unprofessionally and incompetently, and her lines are so poorly (insultingly!) written, that I wondered if it all covered some worthwhile payoff.

It did not.

The pacing was so slow, the male lead was such an insultingly obnoxious, unattractive personality, my gut kept saying "Bail! Bail out!" Yet the cognitive dissonance effect took hold. I'd already invested so much time, I wanted to see it through.

Whew. Should have gone with the gut.

Don't bother.

Maybe it was just my mood...

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 10 January 2015]

...but I was very affected by this film. It was inspired by another film, but I can't give you the name as it will spoil the movie for you. You'll know if you watch it.

Anne Hathaway is Claire, a counselor who is assigned by her boss (Andre Braugher) to help survivors of a plane crash. One of the survivors, Eric, seems not to have been bothered at all, but he makes an appointment to see Claire privately. For the others, she sets up a group therapy session.

We see Claire as a dedicated career woman with a nosy neighbor (Dianne Weist), and she seems to be on the outs with her sister, whom she is trying to reach. Eric proves to be problematic. Since the accident, he's become quite the daredevil and encouraging her to be the same way; he shows up at her apartment late at night; and she's falling for him.

Less and less people show up to the therapy sessions, and Claire wonders about the man hovering outside during the sessions, who seems to be from the airline. She begins to suspect a conspiracy - he is too interested in peoples' accounts of the crash, which differ from the party line, and she thinks he may have something to do with the passengers disappearing.

This is a slow film, but stay with it. It's quite powerful. Anne Hathaway gives a lovely performance as Claire, and Patrick Wilson is effective and likable as Eric, resembling a young Paul Newman.

I admit I shed some tears. Don't listen to the twenty-something year-old guys who populate IMDb (unless you're one yourself; then by all means, listen to them). Just enjoy the movie.

Ghost Therapy

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 11 June 2009]

After a plane crash, the inexperienced psychologist Claire Summers (Anne Hathaway) is assigned by her chief Perry (Andre Braugher) to give support and therapy to the five survivors. One of them, Eric (Patrick Wilson), is in state of euphoria and decided to change his lifestyle and Claire gives special attention to him with private sessions. Through the testimonies of the survivors, Claire finds that there was an explosion on board, while the airline representative Mr. Arkin (David Morse) blames human error for the accident. When the survivors mysteriously vanish one by one, Claire believes the air flight company is behind the disappearances. Meanwhile, Claire crosses the ethical line of her profession and has a love affair with Eric. Claire decides to find the truth about the accident and discloses dark secrets about the fate of the flight.

I saw the trailer of "Passengers" and I was curious to watch this movie. Unfortunately I was disappointed with the result: the promising story is wasted in a screenplay that needed improvements. The plot is developed in a slow pace misguiding the viewer with an intriguing situation and romance, but the predictable resolution is flawed and silly. The cast has good performances and Anne Hathaway is very sweet; the direction is also good; the cinematography is beautiful; but something does not work well and is really missing in the story. The worst moment is when there is an argument in the airport, totally inconsistent with the conclusion. This DVD has just been released in Brazil in the most inappropriate moment, after the tragic crash with 228 casualties of Air France flight AF 447 that left Rio de Janeiro to Paris last week. The timing and sensitivity of the Brazilian distributor was awful. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Passageiros" ("Passengers")

Note: On 04 May 2019, I saw this film again.

Worst psychologist ever!

[tpete1747 · 1/10 · 4 April 2010]

One thing that can surely ruin a movie is having unbelievable characters. The Anne Hathaway character may be the worst psychologist I've ever seen in a movie. Her boss gives her a big responsibility, when in reality he should fire her. She has no ability and no ethics. If it wasn't for my wife, I would have turned it off.

Normally I like psychological thrillers, but they must have a level of believability to draw you into the movie. If the characters are all "movie" characters, designed only to elicit illogical character reactions, it's impossible to develop empathy for any character.

My recommendation is to avoid this movie. It is so bad that I'm writing this while I'm still watching it on demand TV.

Definitely worth watching!

[johnf-41506 · 7/10 · 26 June 2021]

This was a very well put together flick. The acting was great and the end gave me shivers and wet my eyes. Would say more but dont want to ruin it. Enjoy!

Engaging.....but

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 11 October 2010]

Though this film rambles a bit, I did find myself falling for the mystery that underlies it. Suffice it to say, we are pulled into this strange film and are made to choose sides in what seems like a basic airline conspiracy film. Anne Hathaway's young woman seems ill cut out for her job. If I were one of her clients, I would quickly lose confidence. Nevertheless, if we accept her for what she does, it doesn't take long to fall headlong into the series of events. She has been given the job of counseling a small group of survivors of a plane crash. In the process, she becomes intimately involved with a man who seems, for the most part, to take his survival as a rebirth. She struggles with her professional ethics, but gets closer and closer. I can't say I disliked the conclusion to the film and I won't spoil it for anyone, but there are a lot of questions one could ask about how all this came together.

Brace Yourself

[rmax304823 · 3/10 · 5 March 2018]

The juicy featured Anne Hathaway is a clinical psychologist assigned to do grief counseling with the survivors of an airplane crash. She is enthralled by one of them, Patrick Wilson, and has an affair with him. No special effects to speak of, little tension, evocative photography, lots of unanswered questions, and a resolution whose impact eluded me.

I didn't care much for it. Hathway's psychologist should have been cashiered in graduate school. She's easily upset, shrieks readily, radiates self consciousness, and seems uncertain about herself.

I didn't like her paramour either. He's TOO sure of himself and smirks too often as if aware of his own phermomones. And he's hitting on her for the first few minutes of the movie and thereafter. She gives it up after a refreshing night-time dip in some arctic waters. Verboten. Some might call it transference. I call it baloney.

Andre Braugher, a fine actor, should have had more screen time.

Apparently it's appealed to some viewers. You might want to check it out.

No Sixth Sense

[lozden · 6/10 · 11 January 2009]

While watching the movie,my first thought was "another Sixth Sense or one of its derivatives"...not that I deny Sixth Sense is a good movie in its own genre,but that should be left there as regards Passengers.

Concentrating on the catastrophic and traumatic effects of an airplane crash on its few survivors, the movie initially seems to bear in itself illogical/unexplained relations among characters and events which, at first appear as a major flaw...however everything falls logically into place at the end paving way to a total surprise.

Anne Hathaway's low-key acting is a bonus...

A surprise after much overrated movies like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button or Revolutionary Road.

No masterpiece but an interesting thriller...

Horror...yeah,right!

[ncere · 4/10 · 22 December 2008]

First of all let's clear one thing...this is not in any way a horror movie...This is in best way mystery,drama and a little romance all blended in together.

Now about the movie...first the acting.Anne Hathaway carries this movie with a little help of Patrick Wilson.They are great together and they have a good chemistry.The rest of the cast is solid,but nothing more than that ( since the Hathaway and Wilson are 2 central figures of this movie ).

I must say that I was pretty bored with this movie and I wonder why have I watched.It must have been mainly because of cast,and although I have seen some of the negative reviews on IMDb,I decided to watch it anyway...This movie is really boring and the big twist at the end of the movie doesn't have any impact or shock value like the director probably intended...If you've watched more than ten movies in your life,or if you have watched,for example sixth sense,or similar movies,you will see this from mile away...

So in any case this movie probably wouldn't be seen by many people if not for its strong cast...and this movie has one really,really big and essential problem...ITS LACK OF ORIGINALITY...

four out of ten just for good performances...

Haters gonna hate

[danny_dylan · 7/10 · 15 October 2021]

What's wrong with people these days? What's the problem with a heartwarming film that lifts the spirits (no pun intended)?

This is a really emotionally charged movie with a plot twist I never saw coming.

No political agenda, no political correctness undertones just a feel good film.

Ignore the haters, this is a cracker.

Very dull, very unsatisfying

[jcb163 · 2/10 · 19 May 2009]

I would have to agree with many of the comments I have seen here already: this is a tired story line that has been done much better in other vehicles. I don't want to make any direct comparisons for fear of spoiling the 'twist'; however, the movie tends to spoil its own 'twist' by its unremarkable predictability.

The pacing of this film is dreadfully slow. The acting is at best serviceable -- but at the end I felt that we should somehow care more about these characters then we do. Is that the result of weak acting or weak storyline? Maybe some of both.

The ending completely fell flat. As I hinted, my wife and I had already figured out every 'twist' before they happened -- but we were still waiting for some gleaming revelation on why this was an important story and what poignant message we should take from this (after enduring everything that preceded). That shining moment never came -- just 'poof' and it was (mercifully yet utterly unsatisfyingly) done.

I heartily recommend this movie with an enthusiastic 'whatever.'

Don't know why people score so low on this

[nononcence · 8/10 · 22 December 2008]

Well I'm dutch, so bear with the English language...

I really liked this movie... It has almost everything. Mostly I watch action movies.. but sometimes a different genre attacks me. This movie was one of the others. Ik love the psychological real feelings.. the people with open judgement on others. The readiness to make yourself vonourable.

Still this one has some action.. some real people (well as real as you want them to be in movies).. and it warms my heart.

This is my first comment on a movie... and I am absolutely not ashamed that it is for/at this one. See it and you'll like it.. Its more than fine.

Drama about death

[Emily_Baines · 6/10 · 25 August 2019]

Sometimes movies' descriptions are hugely inaccurate. For example, it is impossible to call Passengers a horror movie and it's more like romantic than of fantasy genre. As it had sometimes looked like a bleach and unintriguing typical thriller, this movie has a slightly deeper idea what is a little bit exciting. As I have mentioned, at first the creators of Passengers try to convince us that it's a plain thriller. We get a twisted plot, multicontroversial scenes and it is not always realistic. One of the scenes I disliked most in this movie was when Toni showed up behind Perry after Claire had left the room. So, practically all the time as the movie went on I thought that it's a rather dull film. Anyway, after the ending I understood that there is a very nice thought below some of the crappy scenes and unrealistic plot twist. It's a movie about accepting a fact of death and there may be even a slight critique of the so-called therapeuts who sometimes need more help than their patients themseleves. Of course, I am not a big fan of romance, so the hurtling development of relationship between Claire and Eric irritated me, however, those might be the elements that people who adore sweet and sour love stories will be satisfied by this movie. Yes, it is not a choice for those who are seeking horror (as there are no creepy moments), but it's a fair romantic drama with some fantastic elements which will not fade after switching the TV off.

Watch paint dry instead

[Ambak · 1/10 · 28 April 2014]

I discovered this movie in my DVD collection, but have no recollection of actually buying it. Having time on my hands one evening, I decided to watch it, it only runs 90 minutes so how hard can that be to get through? Well, after about twenty minutes there's a scene where a guy is painting in his apartment. If they had left the camera pointing at the wall for the next hour watching the paint dry it would have been more interesting. This is one of the most tediously boring movies I have ever seen. It is obvious from the start that we are not in the real world. In the real world an air crash would have NTSB investigators all over it, it is not up to the airline to decide what the cause was. Once we have established that we are not in the real world, it doesn't take much to figure out what is going on, but it is still not worth the effort to do so. A complete waste of time.

Deny the passengers...

[Lejink · 6/10 · 16 August 2010]

Watchable little 90 minute thriller which takes too much from "Unbreakable" and particularly "The 6ixth Sense" so that it's big twist is too predictable to cause surprise by the time it's finally delivered.

That's really about it folks, the acting is okay, I guess, although Ann Hathaway's resemblance to a young Julie Hagerty is even more pointed given the aeroplane background to the plot. Patrick Wilson is a touch insipid as the love interest and David Morse gives us the usual "quiet conviction" piece he's been playing ever since "St Elsewhere".

The notion that there may be past-life avatars on the "other side" waiting to welcome our departing spirits is mildly interesting and I suppose if you're spiritually minded, in some way re-assuring. The big plane crash to be fair didn't really shake me out of my seat the way I think it was intended to though.

As I said there's not much to say positive or negative about this feature although I repeat that anyone even remotely familiar with the plot of the genuinely arresting and original "6ixth Sense" might as well not bother.