In space, no one can hear you yawn.
I.S.S. launches with an intriguing enough premise but lacks the power to achieve a satisfying orbit. Set aboard the International Space Station, the film opens with the arrival of two new American astronauts, joining a supposedly close-knit crew consisting of both American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts. However, when nuclear war breaks out on Earth, conflicting orders from both nations pit the crew against each other.
Dr. Kira Foster (Ariana DeBose) serves as our audience proxy as we board this orbital powder keg. As the newest member of the crew she quickly becomes embroiled in the ensuing chaos and her very newness to the I.S.S. goes some way to explaining her unpredictable behaviour. DeBose brings an earnestness to her portrayal, capturing the naive hope and burgeoning terror of someone thrust into an impossible situation. Chris Messina’s Gordon Barrett – sporting a terrific Ned Flanders moustache – on the other hand, is more of a puzzle as the veteran American commander of the station. His stoic leadership makes complete sense up to the point when he makes a really dumb decision but then in that he’s not alone. Nearly all of the characters make decisions or take actions that don’t feel authentic or credible. We don’t spend anywhere near enough time with the crew before the situation erupts on Earth but what little time we do spend doesn’t go any way to suggesting that they’d fall apart as quickly as they do.
In terms of the space-based action, there’s a creditable effort to maintain scientific accuracy and while it clearly hasn’t got the budget of the likes of GRAVITY or THE MARTIAN, it’s as attentive to realistic detail as 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. Unfortunately, unlike that hallowed film’s sequel, it’s decidedly less accomplished in how it articulates and escalates the burgeoning conflict between American astronauts and their Russian counterparts.
We’re never really clued in to what the source of the escalating international tension is or why, during a situation where nuclear war was not only apparently imminent but all but inevitable, cooperation on recrewing the International Space Station continued unabated (the Americans arrive on a Russian spacecraft). There’s some attempt at justifying the control of the station being so important due to one of the experiments going on there but what could have been a gripping psychological thriller as the crew debate the morality of following their orders and the tension between their duty to their country and their duty to the more collegiate scientific altruism which the I.S.S. supposedly stands for very rapidly devolves into a rather conventional cat-and-mouse chase aboard the claustrophobic and not particularly cinematic environment of the Space Station.
Character development is slight, perhaps due to the brisk 95-minute runtime, but more investment in fleshing out the backstories and dynamics of the crew would have paid off handsomely later in the movie. The brevity sacrifices the potential for richer, more complex relationships, leaving the drmaa feeling superficial and the supposed romantic subplot between Messina’s Gordon and Mashkova’s Weronika is barely touched upon despite its significance to the whole story.
I.S.S. feels like a missed opportunity. It has the elements of a great film but doesn’t quite get the trajectory right. It’s moderately entertaining but lacks the depth and cohesion to be truly memorable. There’s tension there, but it fizzles out when it should climax. If you’re a fan of space dramas and don’t mind a lighter psychological payload, it’s worth a watch. Otherwise, you might find yourself wishing for more thrust to its storytelling engines.
