Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Movie review: IO

 
 When it is believed the Earth can no longer support life the human race evacuates to IO, one of Jupiter's moons. But Sam and her father stay behind trying to find a way for humanity to survive. When another survivor arrives headed for the last shuttle leaving Earth, Sam has a decision to make.

Margaret Qualley (Sam), Anthony Mackie (Micah), Danny Huston (Henry), Tom Payne (Elon), Emma Fitzgerald (Radio Broadcaster), Justin Jamieson (TV news broadcaster).

IO begins by showing us a bit about what happened to humanity and how Sam has lived since their departure from Earth. Alone but surviving, her simple life is upended with the arrival of Micah, another survivor headed for the last shuttle leaving Earth. From there the film takes some twists and turns and we find Sam's story is not what we thought. Though the film is slow at times, the result is a reverse engineered version of The Martian where the stranded are on Earth.

Acting was surprisingly good with Qualley delivering very well. Mackie felt fairly flat at first but warmed up eventually and seemed to work well with Qualley. Huston and the remainder of the cast had very small roles but managed them nicely.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are pretty good and we feel like humanity has truly moved on. CGI was okay but easily spotted during some scenes. Action was good, dialogue was entertaining with decent depth. Sound and soundtrack are okay.

Overall IO is an unusual but interesting film. Sci-Fi aspects of the film are good but this is really more about drama and romance. Those who enjoy mild sci-fi mixed with some drama and romance should enjoy this one. Those hoping for an intense or fast moving story may be disappointed.

With a couple instances of foul language and artistic nudity, this should be fine for teens and above.

Released: 2019
Reviewed: 1.22.19
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Romance, Adventure, post-apocalyptic films

copyright ©2019 Dave Riedel

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