I.S.S. is a 2024 sci-fi thriller following six astronauts in space who are forced to abandon their original mission when their respective governments give them orders to take over the ship they inhabit.
The I.S.S. sticks together, no matter what. That’s the idea, at least. Dr. Kira Foster (Ariana DeBose) is the newest astronaut taking residence on the International Space Station, a hub of collaboration between America and Russia. In this partnership, the two countries have contributed to many advancements in areas of science and technology. Kira joins fellow Americans Gordon (Chris Messina) and Christian (John Gallagher Jr.), and is introduced to Russian brothers Nicholai (Costa Ronin) and Alexey (Pilou Asbaek) Pulov and Weronika (Masha Mashkova).
No matter what may be occurring on Earth, the two groups don’t bring up anything that could naturally make a divisive wedge between heavy country superpowers with past history. All of it changes one day when glimpses of explosions on Earth are visible, and the astronauts are in shock. Their governments send each private comms – their respective objective is the same. Take over the I.S.S. by any means necessary. Friendly collaboration now turns into silent plotting.
The cool thing about the space movie subgenre is there are so many different offerings. There’s Alien and Event Horizon for the horror buffs, Gravity and The Martian for dramatic thrill-seekers, and fare like Interstellar, Ad Astra, and 2001: A Space Odyssey for the philosophical/psychological crowd. In I.S.S., the realities of space are mixed with some geopolitical beats not too far off from present-day. It’s a very good setup, so good that its macro story arguably overshadows the one highlighted.
Any space film should look like it was filmed, well, in space. On that end, director Gabriela Cowperthwaite succeeds on a budget under $15 million, stretching and working within the parameters as much as she can. Naturally, this is nowhere near as expansive as some of those aforementioned features, but that’s totally OK. It’s claustrophobia in space, with the vastness and danger of the galaxy somehow lessened in comparison (primarily in the first half or so) to the mystery of what the astronauts know and don’t know about their current scenario.
I.S.S. gets into the core conflict quickly, and the tension between the two groups previously united as one ratchets up quickly. But there is a point midway through writer Nick Shafir’s script where it peaks and it’s hard not to think about other story components. This is probably more of a personal feeling (all of this is, let’s be honest), but as I.S.S. progressed in runtime, I found myself hoping and wishing we’d get more answers—or at least stronger hypotheses—on what the astronauts saw, why the world is at what appears to be war, etc. This thought consumed me so much I couldn’t stop thinking about it, to the point where the conflict on the ship held less and less intrigue. Some final act standoffs feel shoehorned into the final draft, and the movie ends on a flat note.
Perhaps my middling feelings are a result of thin characterization. It’s a slim cast crew in I.S.S., led first by the Oscar-winning DeBose. As the fresh-faced rookie with no prior ties to the others on board, she’s the person whom the story flows through, but even her impact on the ongoings within the story are kind of nil and we never get a great sense of attachment to her, or anyone. There’s synergy among the cast, and early on this carries I.S.S. more than adequately, yet as fractures begin to materialize, interactions come off as very rote.
Houston, we have a bit of a problem. While not quite in need of a complete SOS, I.S.S is a star that burns bright at the beginning with a compelling synopsis, but loses illumination the longer it’s in space.