The latest entry in the Astronauts In Peril subgenre is I.S.S.
( now streaming on Paramount+ ), a tense what-if thriller from Gabriela Cowperthwaite, directing her second feature after making a name for herself with acclaimed documentary Blackfish . The title refers to the International Space Station, a real-life thing that’s a symbol of international unity floating in orbit, and here is the single-location setting for a potentially intriguing concept: Three Russians and three Americans – one played by West Side Story Oscar winner Ariana DeBose – exist in harmony on the station, until World War III breaks out between their respective countries down on the surface. The question is, does the Now What of this plot include a bunch of ideas, or just the usual stuff of claustrophobic thrillers? All I have to say about that is, prepare to be disappointed.
The Gist: Kira (DeBose) is a total newbie astronaut, making her first trip to the I.S.S.
She’s a bio-engineer who brought some mice to study in between floating around in tight quarters, pressing buttons and flipping switches and figuring out how to sleep in zero Gs, and this isn’t the type of movie that gets into the realities of the space toilet, so that goes unmentioned. Her fellow Americans are authoritative-mustache guy Gordon (Chris Messina) and the weasel-eyed Christian (John Gallagher Jr.), who work in concert with three Russian cosmonauts, Weronika (Masha Mashkova), Alexey (Pilou Asbaek) and Nicholai (Costa Ronin.