Europa Report : I liked this movie, but I would change one thing:

This assumes that you have seen the movie, therefore, spoilers.

-I liked the tone of the movie. It's some sort of documentary, a la Discovery Channel.
-I liked the ending; no one comes back but they manage to send to earth info proving the discovery of life on Europa.

However I feel that the payoff is delivered too soon when they find living algae on the surface. That, on itself, is proving that there is life on other planets, so having the squid in the end doesn't add much to it.

Anyways, I'd have loved to see a bigger discovery in the end. Rosa sinks with the ship, but as she descends underwater she should be able to see traces of civilization. Buildings, roads, intelligent behaviour. Perhaps more creatures trying to aid her. Of course that would bring the movie more to The Abyss territory, but probably that would have made more people feel content with the ending.

I agree with you about point 1 & 2, but about the ending it's pretty good enough (Rosa sink with the ship). You're too imaginative (that's good also)

But one thing that disturb me in this movie is ;
James Corrigan, i mean Sharlto Copley is a proffesional actor, but he got just like a minor character in this movie (die to early).

The other actors are professionals too. What's your point? You were suprised? Good, maybe that was the plan.

Yeah, i thought so It's their plan to chose that Sharlto's character is first to die

The way I look at it, Sharlto Copley had the meatiest role in terms of histrionics. He was the only one who displayed any emotion centered around his family back home and also his death scene, the first example of the crew's sacrifices to make the mission go on. which was way better done than any of the other death scenes.
Stop reading my signature.

I disagree completely about the ending. I though the squid was too much. Here I am, finally watching a (more or less) realistic science fiction and enjoying the fact that there are no impossible stunts, aliens speaking English or space battles, and then they throw a squid in.

It felt a little like they were slipping more into fiction than science with that last shot. It felt a bit cliche, too. I'm glad they didn't have more signs of civilization.


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I agree with you. When I saw the squid it kind of killed it a bit; it would have been better to keep it at a similar pace as the rest of the movie: leaving more to the imagination to what you directly see. To leave you wondering what type of life could those ligths are.

I respectfully disagree. A giant squid fully meets the scientific parameters established by the conditions on Europa (extreme temperatures and pressures [giant squid, until recently, were only found at great ocean depths]; dietary habits, etc.). Likewise, algae on the surface. While the last shot reminded me of "The Abyss," I felt it was an appropriate satisfying "cliche" as a reward for watching a textbook-perfect science fiction film that clearly sacrifices easy "entertainment" for realism and artistic integrity.

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I respectfully disagree. A giant squid fully meets the scientific parameters established by the conditions on Europa (extreme temperatures and pressures [giant squid, until recently, were only found at great ocean depths]; dietary habits, etc.). Likewise, algae on the surface. While the last shot reminded me of "The Abyss," I felt it was an appropriate satisfying "cliche" as a reward for watching a textbook-perfect science fiction film that clearly sacrifices easy "entertainment" for realism and artistic integrity.

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Agree completely. Well said.

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I agree too. The squid seems like the most legit species in that environment. Also the blue light adds the finishing touch cos obviously whatever is down there was gonna need some light to kinda see and move around.

The light is a bit over the top actually and makes no sense. There is not one animal that uses light to find it's way. Animals with no way to see underwater use sonar (dolphins, whales)

That is not entirely true. Many abyssal fish have bioluminescence, even though they don't use it to see, but as a bait for their preys.

Yep and i never contradicted that in my statement. Please try to understand what is said before commenting next time.

Sure, little cranky bitch.

LOL. How is asking somebody to understand something cranky. Seems somebody is projecting.

right, and, without the squid at the end, all of the detractors screaming "boring" would have added to their field day

I would like to chime in and agree with the ones who liked the giant squid ending. It is a plausible ending. It was clever of them to add a real documentary footage of Neil Degrasse Tyson talking about ice fishing in Europa. The imagination is just enough to give us a shock and speculate further but not too drawn out to change the tone of the movie completely.

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realism

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I know what you're saying, but it's far from realistic. My largest gripe was the shouting between the crew and the "democratic vote". (watch ISS footage or Apollo 13, they are unbelievably disciplined, listen to superiors orders, don't allow emotions to interfere etc).

I would love to see an Apollo 13 type movie that is fiction. This movie was decent, but being paced slower and lack of explosions does not equal realism.

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watch ISS footage or Apollo 13, they are unbelievably disciplined, listen to superiors orders, don't allow emotions to interfere etc).

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That sort of self-control might be possible in these comparatively short missions, but try maintaining that discipline for several years during which two crew members died.

The ISS is such a test, they are staying for a year at a time. If you think they just send up emotional people you're completely wrong. The people they select are so carefully vetted there would be no flaring of emotions.

If you ask my wife the last time I've ever yelled in anger in 8 years (I yell in joy) I guarantee she won't be able to remember because I'm in control of my negative emotions. I'm just a normal person, not even close to the level of astronauts.

I'm sure astronauts are vetted for extreme emotional stability, but even the ISS's "year at a time" cannot approximate two continuous years, exacerbated by the death of a crew member - or was it two?

I'm also in control of my emotions, but I'm not a psychopath. There are limits to what I could endure while staying calm.

I do not know the extent of your knowledge, but how can you be absolutely certain that no flaring of emotions occur on the ISS? Sure, the kind of people up there are mature and well trained and would not let personal issues interfere with their duties and responsibilities - but they are not machines void of emotion. Nobody is (unless you're an extreme psychopath).

Without boring you with detail, but I've been fortunate to spend 7 years (accumulated) of my life in highly isolated conditions in Antarctica, sub-antarctic islands and research vessels. I know what it's like to have only 6 others around for company for an entire year. BTW, more than half of my experience was pre-satellite phones, when radio-telex was the height of sophistication. Yes, we were vetted beforehand and once you've proven you can function in those circumstances, you become part of an experienced group you can absolutely rely on. Without mutual trust and utmost discipline, something serious will go wrong. Yet even when you have the most ideal group of colleagues around you there will always be ups and downs. There will be good days and bad days, individually and collectively. Emotions is not something you can switch off like a toggle switch - it remains an inherent part of the human psyche.

Yes, I know life on the ISS is not comparable to anything else down here, but the people up there right now are humans. Humans of a special kind, but still human.

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Please click on 'reply' at the post you're responding to. Thanks.

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This was a privately funded mission with members that seemed to be picked for their science and engineering prowess and didn't necessarily have any military training.

The only thing is Apollo 13 and the ISS were only in earth orbit. Not all the way to Jupiter.

I agree with this too. I saw a National Geographic (or Discovery?) feature on the sort of alien species that would actually be living underneath the surface of Europa (and other similar moons covered with ice) if there were, based on the conditions of the environment on these planets.

The squid or octopus in this movie is not too far-fetched but rather 'spot on' if you ask the experts.


You're so wise. You're like a miniature Buddha, covered in hair.

Nobody really knows what is "spot on". Evolution is very random. It can actually be anything in terms of form. Nobody knows how life can evolve.

Note that the form of an animal is not necessarily that relevant to what pressures/depths it dwells in. A giant squid looking animal on another planet is NOT a giant squid genetically. It just happens to be that a giant squid on earth lives in great depths but so can a whale and the body shapes of these animals are totally dissimilar.

I liked the ending. For me, the giant squid was the perfect balance between the 'boring' algae and an 'out-of-realistic-genre' alien civilization.

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having the squid in the end doesn't add much to it

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From a scientific point, at least, of view it adds a lot. Single-celled organisms can live and thrive in very, very hard environments. But big, multicellular organisms that's a completely different thing.

Also, from a dramatic point of view, it hints to the possibility of alien intelligence without really pushing little green men on your face.

That is how I interpret those parts of the film.



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I liked the ending,but I would rather she saw the life form while sinking to the bottom.A couple small things that bothered me was the CEO appearing/narrating in the middle of the story(right when it was getting good),and the overuse of sound effects(like when the biologist died) or the bad-connection video effects(a little over done). Great movie for SF buffshope I see more like thismaybe Clarks 2016(or Ramos series),Ringworld,or Gridlinked!

The ending kind of retroactively turned this into a monster movie, rather than a fairly realistic "alien life" movie. I don't mind that per se, but I think it would've been better if the creature was left a bit more obscured.

Also.Assuming it is indeed a carnivorous predator, I have to wonder what a large creature like that eats on a daily basis. I don't think algae are going to cut it.

I think it was a little more than just a squid.
This thing moved in light form and changed into a squid like creature but even
then, if you pause the ending and look at its face there's like a spiral of
light and a shape instead of a tangible face/mouth.

I felt it was very realistic and possibly something that COULD actually happen
when/if we do go visiting the moons of other planets.
I liked the older engineer (sorry his name escapes me here) he was a really solid actor and without him, it might not have come together quite as well as it did.

All in all, considering budget, and genre, i think it was superb and id recommend it to any Sci-Fi fan.

As a sci-fi fan I enjoyed this movie very much. The concept of discovering an alien life form on another planet was intriguing, and would certainly change our views of how we view ourselves, entirely. Although the squid-like creature was a bit of a reach I believe the director and writers felt that something identifiable was required, yet it appeared to be alien and of unknown origin.
So despite all we think we know about evolution, the laws of physics, biology as it applies to us in our known world, here comes the question.
Given the variables, would we even be able to recognize a different life form, perhaps even a civilization on a far planet or moon, perhaps in another galaxy?
I am also referring back to a couple of excellent movies that touched on that matter, X-The Unknown (1956) and Event Horizon (1997)
If, and when we might actually go . . .
Europa Report gave us a glimpse of just how different things we might encounter may be.

"little more than just a squid"
TOTALLY! I watched it with my partner, and she said it looked organic to her. But to be honest I didn't even think of it as a squid until I came here to read this thread. The thing does not look organic to me at all. It looks like some kind of machine with long squid-like arms perhaps, but definitely not a squid.
Creepy. It creeped me out.

It kinda looked like those sentinels in the Matrix movies, with the squid-like tentacles. I thought it might have been bio-mechanical, or maybe just mechanical, but either way, I'm of the opinion that I would've preferred not to see it at the end and that the creature was left more to the imagination. I still enjoyed the movie, but that was a bit of a letdown for me.

Well I guess we'd had the first female astronaut sinking in the water where you saw the colourful creatures reflected in her eyes. At that point you couldn't be sure if the creatures were benign or friendly etc.

With the creature at the end slithering into the craft, it certainly seemed to have an agenda which made the situation far more unnerving.


Small moves Ellie, small moves

I liked the movie

But I didn't like the documentary style with flash-forwards and flashbacks. I would have preferred it in 'real-time.'

And it would have been better if they had at least one survivor at the end.

The one thing I would have changed would be do not make found footage films. You can use it as a plot point that they found footage of the crew and what not, but let that be a gateway into the movie with traditional cinematography. I'd have liked to give this movie like a 6 or 7 or something, but found footage means I gotta add five minus points. So this ends up being a 3.

I very much agree with the points you made but perhaps a slight alteration to your ending. I think it would have kept the tension of the unknown if they would have just shown the water come into the capsule and seen Rosa go under into the blue light but never show the alien creature. The blue light would come closer to the camera and envelope the screen in light and quickly cut to black as the power to the capsule dies, and that would be the end. I think in a film that is built upon suspense it would have had a dramatic impact on the viewer and let their minds fill in the blanks. As I have experienced the mind typically creates something even more interesting, terrifying, when left with a blank. A film about space exploration I think should always have a bit left that is unknown. All the great space films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Solaris (original of course,) and Alien all have unknown or at least uncertain endings. All of the endings of those movies just leave me speechless. I think this film could of benefited greatly from this slight variation in mise en scene.

I'm on the fence about this. Initially, I had the same thought because it is generally better to keep the audience guessing for the reasons you mentioned. It's a tough call, though, when you consider the theme of the movie was the crew's willingness to sacrifice themselves for a potentially monumental discovery. Obscuring the beast would have been more than an artistic decision; it would have added a sense of futility and changed the overall tone of the film to something a bit more depressingly realistic. Revealing the beast was the difference between a happy ending and a tragedy.

The movie felt pretty realistic up to that point in the movie though. What's wrong with keeping it realistic?

You are 100% right. They achieved their mission and much more so by getting footage of the creature. Ending it this way turned it into more than just a horror sci fi flick

everyone said "squid?"
That was the best ending. We actually haven't seen aliens. Yea i mean it.

If aliens landed on earth, humans attack with tanks or something. Of course humans are not tanks.

Like this, that "squid thing" was robot or some ***t. (imo).

Then that becomes the best ending. Not very finctional. Not boring as hell.

You guys get it. Im not english man. :D

It changed everything yo

Unicellular organism and complex organism are way too different