Voyagers

I thought the trailer for Voyagers looked really intriguing so I went to see it last night.  In the near future the Earth has become uninhabitable because of climate change and disease and, while a planet capable of sustaining life has been found, the journey there will take 86 years.  Scientists decide to create a bio-engineered group of children who will grow up on board the spaceship as it travels to the new planet and serve as the crew for the mission while producing children and grandchildren to eventually colonize it.  They are raised by a scientist named Richard (Colin Farrell) in complete isolation so they won't miss anyone or anything on Earth and their emotions and impulses are controlled by a chemical put in a drink administered daily known as the blue.  An inquisitive crew member named Christopher (Tye Sheridan) discovers that they are being controlled by the blue and he convinces Zac (Fionn Whitehead), and then the whole crew, to stop taking it with him.  At first this causes an exciting awakening of their senses but soon they start to give in to their darker instincts.  When an accident leaves a leadership void, Christopher and Zac fight for control and for the affections of Sela (Lily-Rose Depp) which compromises the mission.  This movie has an interesting premise but, unfortunately, the execution of it is rather bland.  Most of the characters are so thinly drawn that I couldn't recognize any of their names when they appeared in the end credits and, aside from Whitehead (who is becoming quite good at portraying psychopaths), the performances are incredibly stilted.  The message about the breakdown of order and its consequences (which is stolen from reminiscent of Lord of the Flies) is very heavy-handed and obvious while the scenes of teenagers running amok are surprisingly tame (the poster is more titillating than the movie).  Many of the deeper psychological questions, such as nature vs. nurture, freewill, and sacrificing oneself for a greater cause, are briefly introduced and then quickly abandoned.  I did enjoy the sleek and stylish design of the spaceship (with endless corridors for the characters to run through) but not enough to recommend this lackluster movie to anyone other than fans of the young actors.