hunter albert

It’s a premise that almost feels right at home during the height of the Cold War: American and Russian cosmonauts onboard the international space station watch down below as nuclear armageddon unfolds. The mission from the American and Russian governments is simple: secure the I.S.S. at any cost. Sure, the I.S.S. wasn’t launched until 1998, but Russia and the US as world power adversaries and nuclear armageddon seems like a Hollywood past time.

But it’s the modern day, and the Soviet Union collapsed over thirty years ago. While the Cold War is over, international relations with Russia are in a deep freeze, with Vladimir Putin’s consolidation of power and the invasion of Ukraine. I.S.S. almost takes comfort in returning us the old days when Russian’s were the bad guys, but it attempts to blur that line by painting a moral grey area.

The film attempts to ask the question: do we as people represent our nationalistic identities whether we want to or not? Our government actions have direct consequences on us, especially in the eyes of people from other countries. John Oliver talked about how many American’s can look at Gaza and not feel sympathy for the tragedy that is occurring there, even though all the people in Gaza do not share the beliefs of Hezbollah. It’s much easier for people to look at a country and view everyone as a homogenous government representation. Some of the characters in the film are more than okay to act out on their countries behalf, with dire consequences. It’s in the highest echelons of government pulling the strings on those willing to fall in line, and the people left feeling the consequences are the average joes (if you can call astronauts in space that). The Cold War theory of mutually assured destruction couldn’t be more apt.

I.S.S. is a paranoid fueled thriller that stumbles in a few areas, but is solid entertainment for it’s short ninety six runtime. From a technical perspective, the CGI is serviceable and at times, low budget. Ariana DeBose, a few years removed from her Oscar win for West Side Story, is an odd casting choice and really doesn’t deliver here.

I don’t think I could recommend paying for a rental, but if I.S.S. ever shows up on a streaming service for free, then sure? It’s a harmless film, perhaps a perfect fit in the niche category of apocalyptic space thriller.

★★★

Fun fact: Thanks to Apple TV’s confusing subtitle options, we legitimately thought there was no subtitles for when the Russian’s spoke in their native language. It wasn’t until almost the halfway point that when the Russian’s had a very lengthy conversation that I knew I made a mistake of some sort. Up until that point, the Russian speaking had been spoken in small parcels and I thought really did a good job highlighting the language barrier of the viewer not having any idea of knowing the Russian’s intentions. I think that would have made for a far more interesting stylistic choice. But alas, this was a techinical faux pas on my end.