Passengers: When Hollywood Heavyweights Collide

By: Connor Lenahan

You know what’s weird? We don’t have that many movie stars anymore. That seems wrong, and it is. We have a ton of famous actors and actresses. Likely more now than ever. But movie stars is a completely different category. I’m talking about the upper echelon of movie stars – the people who can carry a full franchise or two on their own while they can simultaneously command a blank check for their performance, knowing their position on the poster will make the money back for the studio.

Christ Pratt? That’s a movie star right there. Jurassic World and Guardians of the Galaxy shot him to the A-List as one of the most bankable leading men in Hollywood. Jennifer Lawrence? I’m not sure there’s a better all around movie star in the world. She’s bankable as hell, pops up in multiple franchises with X-Men and The Hunger Games, won an Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook, and still gets attention for being an incredible performer and a massive talent. If Lawrence asked for $50 million for a role it’s not out of the question that she’d get it, and not a debate that she should.

Why the long-winded explanation to get to this trailer? Because this is a rarity of a film. For one, this looks like the best summer blockbuster of 2016 that just happens to come out on Christmas. Second, we do not often get a film that calls upon two true A-List talents at once. Third, in a somewhat unbelievable twist, we are getting that combination of stars in a film that doesn’t outwardly scream “Oscar Bait.” Fourth, we get a new outer space thriller with superstars that looks way easier to understand than Interstellar and has a plot, unlike Gravity. Fifth and finally, Passengers looks straight up dope.

I am buying my tickets the millisecond they go on sale. In a year that still doesn’t quite have a clear Oscar field things just got a lot more confusing, but seemingly a whole lot more entertaining come December 25th, with Passengers.