I.S.S. (2024) review

written by: Nick Shafir
produced by: Mickey Liddell and Pete Shilaimon
directed by: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
rating: R (for some violence and language)
runtime: 95 min.
U.S. release date: January 12, 2024

“I.S.S.” is one of those one-location thrillers, in which the characters we spend time with remain in one single location throughout the movie. In this case, they are a group of astronauts and cosmonauts, three Russians and three Americans, living aboard the International Space Station (hence the movie’s title). The main conceit from screenwriter Nick Shafir finds the crew dealing with following orders and struggling to survive, in a story akin to something you’d find on an episode of “Black Mirror”. There is commendable set-up and tense build-up from documentarian-turned-narrative-filmmaker Gabriela Cowperthwaite (“Blackfish” and “Meagan Leavey”), as close-quarters paranoia is established and escalated to trust issues. It’s an interesting premise and character study, albeit with some head-scratching plotholes.

As the movie opens, the modern-day story opens with two new arrivals to the I.S.S. As science officer Dr. Kira Foster (Ariana DeBose) and returning officer Christian Campbell (John Gallagher Jr.) arrive via Soyuz rocket, they get their bearings and begin to acclimate to life in space. They are welcomed by Gordon Barrett (Chris Messina), another American, and are introduced to the Russian crew consisting of Alexey (Pilou Asbaek), Weronika (Maria Mashkova), and Nicholai (Costa Ronin). Kira has arrived to conduct uncertain biological experiments involving mice and begins the uneasy process of acclimation in close quarters. Bonding begins as all six crew members handle their daily activities with respectful professionalism and a sense of duty.

The crew’s dynamic changes when they all see that the earth below has been ravaged by nuclear war. At first, Kira thought it must be a volcano, but then the fiery explosions repeated across North America and then Russia. It could only mean one thing. Suddenly, their reliance on each other has shifted to alarm and concern for their loved ones below. When both American and Russian government contacts communicate to their respective crew members the same directive, “take control of the station – by any means necessary”, an understandable wave of caution and anxiety overcomes each side of the crew. Lives are threatened and trust is betrayed, as the situation in space starts to unravel quickly.

Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite shot “I.S.S.” almost three years ago and wound up premiering at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival. She does a fine job at the onset of the story, establishing life on the space station, assisted by some great production design work by Geoff Wallace (who worked on the Nickelodeon show “The Astronauts” during this time) and claustrophobic interior scenes from cinematographer Nick Remy Matthews. With Kia being our gateway character, we witness her getting used to her new surroundings, like how one decides to sleep either upright and strapped to the wall of their minuscule living area or just remain floating. These moments of acclimation before everyone sees the earth on fire wind up being much more interesting than the rest of the movie. That’s not necessarily a good sign for a thriller.

The visual effects establishing space station life are convincing in “I.S.S.”, yet they never overwhelm the story, keeping the focus on the characters and how they react to their new dire situation. Tension escalates quietly, with the Americans and the Russians doing their best to figure out their new directive in secret as suspicions increase. At the mid-way point, CGI is cranked up when Messina’s Gordon is required to do the inevitable in this “space station peril movie”, which is to suit up and go out and repair an external antenna. Of course, we know we will soon see him floating helplessly in space. But, I had a hunch that we wouldn’t see the last of that character and I was disappointed that I was right. This exterior action scene is what many viewers were hoping to see more of in “I.S.S.”, which has certainly been marketed as a sci-fi thriller. It is and it isn’t, at least not at the pace an average moviegoer would expect.

Shafir’s screenplay offers distinctive personalities and Cowperthwaite provides time for situations to develop where trust is gained and lost, but the third act settles for acts of violence instead of discussions of reason. After all, these are supposed to be intellectual thinkers, but then again they’re also humans with emotions. Still, it seems odd that time was devoted in the beginning to establish convincing comradery, only for that to be jettisoned by violent intentions. The survival aspect of “I.S.S.” is best presented during confrontations of paranoia and fear, rather than action scenes inside and out. In that sense, the movie almost lives up to the premise’s potential.

I couldn’t help wondering what this movie would’ve been like if it was set in the Reagan-era 80s when the Cold War was still looming. Certainly, it would be interesting to dive back into that era, knowing what we now know and how Russia (and America, for that matter) is currently seen on a global platform. Shariff and Cowperthwaite steer clear of politics though, the screenplay makes that emphatic point as Kia gets to know the crew, but the subject nevertheless remains under the surface throughout and inevitably rears its head in the third act.

“I.S.S.” unexpectedly found me asking that question we often ask in thrillers, which is, “What would I do in such a situation?” Well, I’d probably panic and go nuts, but I’d like to think that I wouldn’t be all that surprised by the actions back on Earth. That could be why I appreciate how the movie ends – not on a hopeful note, but the sole survivors of the I.S.S. are still far away from the fiery third rock from the Sun.

RATING: **1/2