I.S.S. (2024)

Two American scientists (Ariana Debose, John Gallagher Jr.) are sent to an International Space Station to join a fellow American (Chris Messina) and their Russian counterparts (Masha Mashkova, Costa Ronin, Pilou Asbaek). Friendship and cooperation are in abundance. But when a state of war is declared between the U.S. and Russia, each faction is ordered to take command of the I.S.S. at any cost. Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite (BLACKFISH). The first 15 minutes had me expecting the worst. The characters acted like college kids at a frat party rather than scientists. Fortunately, after war is declared, the film acquires an intensity and it's more serious. But it's often incoherent and motives not always clearly established. Its claustrophobic setting adds to the tension but ultimately, it offers nothing we haven't seen before in better science fiction movies. It often telegraphs what's to come as with Gallagher's paranoia and Ronin's shifty eyes. We know they're not to be trusted.