This is a tough one for me because I'm a Sci-fi fan and I like a decent thriller, and this is both without getting too much into the technobabble that can bring down many a sci-fi flick with the general public. "I.S.S." has a lot going for it; apart from some less-than-stellar zero gravity effects and an unsatisfying non-ending, this is an otherwise solid thriller set in the confining corridors of a space station.
The basic setup is that three American astronauts and three Russian cosmonauts live and work side-by-side like an adopted family until what appears to be WW3 (from orbit, in some great visuals that only increase our crew's sense of isolation) breaks out on Earth. But our crew can't trust their cramped surroundings any more than they can trust each other. The only thing they can count on is that waiting for them after someone gains control of this icon of the Cold War is cold space because their orbit begins to decay without the ground support needed to sustain it, cranking up the tension even more.
There's also a pathos here, as the decaying orbit makes the question of who wins control of the station all the more futile, but it's still no less of a goal because survival. Even though there's no guarantee of that either, as the black of space is lit only by the radioactive fires of a war raging below.
But still, "I.S.S." gets a B- from me due to some lackluster effects, an underdeveloped subplot or two, and especially that underwhelming ending after such a prelude.
***
I.S.S.
Bleecker Street Media
MPAA: R
Running Time: 1 hr 35 min
Genres: Sci-Fi, Thriller
