greenmemo Review of Europa Report

Europa Report (2013)

Left field space travel flick with good science for a change

[10/10 · 27 June 2013]

This is a phenomenal sci-fi movie with a realistic approach to what it would be like to send a manned spaceship into the outer solar system, most precisely Jupiter's moon Europa, known for having an ice crust beneath which scientists suspect exists liquid water, maybe even an ocean. Six astronauts (four men and two women) make the team of the expedition; these knowledgeable fellows unlike those from some much bigger and dumber examples of the genre of recent memory. In their mission they will encounter many dangers being radiation one of the most deadly, and they will take sometimes calculated risks, some other times crazy ones because there is no other choice. Do not get fooled by the fact that the movie chooses the found footage format to tell the story of these brave souls: this is nothing like Apollo XVIII; this is more like "2001" and "Sunshine", with an atmosphere of mounting dread and eerie cosmic landscapes reminiscent of "Alien", alternating between the claustrophobic, the agoraphobic and the awe inspiring. The narration or I should say "assemblage" of short circuit video and spacesuits' helmets feeds is tight, and the film is so well crafted technically, that you get the impression you've been watching real footage from NASA; there are also a handful of genuinely jaw dropping sequences, like the landing on the title moon (accentuated by an intense musical score), terrific weightless scenes and a terrifying "plumbing" accident towards the end of the movie. Overall, it is a great genre achievement that will leave you wishing you could get the chance to explore the arcane mysteries of space yourself, in spite of knowing so well that you might end up like the proverbial moth that is mesmerized by the light of the burning flame.