IO

IO provides a different take on a familiar premise. The story is intimate in nature, with a plot that highlights the importance of relationships – not just between partners or family members, but relationships in general. Its pacing and lack of urgency betrays the drama though.

Too measured and sedate for a post-apocalyptic thriller, yet too barren for a Christopher Nolan-style space and time travel epic, IO appears most akin to The Martian in that it focuses primarily on one person’s grit and resourcefulness to endure and grow plants in an unforgiving place.

Broad themes like staunch hope, and vital human connection, become cheap sentiments, vanishing into air. “IO” isn’t science fiction storytelling distilled so much as it is vaporized.

The dynamic between Sam and Micah shifts the film into romantic melodrama, as lifeless and as chaste as the windswept apocalypse that surrounds them.

IO is dull, it drags, and it’ll beg the question: When will this, all of this, be over?

There's barely a scene in IO that's performed with pulse or verve. It's Sad-Face Emoji Sci-Fi, with po-faced references to Greek mythology, Chopin and T.S. Eliot, among others, and empirical techno-jargon spoken at a Valley Girl level of credibility.

I thought this was going to be a waste of time but I found it surprisingly good. That may be because I've seen quite a few 2+ hours movies lately that quite frankly bored me, some to pieces. This one however actually had an interesting premise, even if the science was a bit dodgy. Well acted budget movie. I've seen far worse. Finally something to make the green again, a surprising one at that.

Acting 4/10 Storytelling and plot 4/10 Camera shots 8/10 Video Edit 6/10 Pleasant to watch If You need something for lazy evening.

As far as the premise of the movie goes it probably hookes all viewers, but when it comes to the actual movie it's going to turn off a lot of them. But when you look at it for what it is, it's an okay movie. So, Girl stays on Earth in hope that one day she finds a way to have bees be able to survive the toxins. She does this by living in an air pocket on top of hill. But then nature happens and one little storm kills all the bees... and well that is just about as intense the movie is going to get. The movie makes an interesting plot, but it falls flat early one by not taking advantage of the large potential for such a story. There are a few nonsensical decisions which deflate the smart decisions made before (You know which one i mean) and the character of Sam becomes less relatable as the story progresses. On a general note, I'm getting frustrated with Netflix as they put out multiple Sci-Fi movies a year now (which i like) yet seem incapable of making one that hits it out of the park. This movie smells of the same effort of movies like Titan. The ending... it's quite lazy and lacks any impact. If we were actually shown the people of the exodus missions on Jupiter's Moon it would have mattered more as we know nothing about the conditions they live in. Overall this movie was pretty average, as it entertains but falls flat on delivery and satisfaction. I give this movie a 6/10.

slow pacing and boring script. good to watch when you have trouble falling asleep.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]