Pandorum
Metascore
28 out of 100

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 13 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 13
  3. Negative: 9 out of 13
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  1. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Justine Elias
    75
    Pandorum is a dark, disquieting dream worth watching out for.
  2. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Stephen Cole
    75
    Handsomely mounted, emotionally involving sci-fi movies don't often show up in the darkened galaxies of our theatre chains. So Alvart's English-language debut is definitely a film you want to catch on the big screen. Just don't sit too close, lest you end up with a dose of pandorum.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Clark Collis
    58
    How brazenly can one film rip off "Alien," "I Am Legend," and, somewhat oddly, "The Poseidon Adventure"?
  4. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Michelle Orange
    40
    Director Christian Alvart clearly attended horror’s new paint-shaker school of direction (motto: shaky = scary!), but the script’s twisty, end-of-the-world intrigue saves this otherwise leaden film from total self-destruction.
  5. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Nathan Rabin
    33
    Throw out the presence of Dennis Quaid, and the new science-fiction/horror snoozer Pandorum could easily pass for a Roger Corman cheapie.
  6. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Frank Scheck
    30
    Claustrophobic, tedious sci-fi thriller.
  7. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Glenn Whipp
    30
    Keeps its audience in the dark -- literally and figuratively -- far too long to be of much use besides as a patience-trying exercise in reference spotting.
  8. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Jeannette Catsoulis
    30
    According to the press notes, pandorum means “Orbital Dysfunctional Syndrome”; whatever that is, by the end of the movie I was convinced I had caught it.
  9. Variety
    Reviewed by: Rob Nelson
    30
    Special effects are none too convincing, while sound effects are of the cheaply jolting variety favored by producer Paul W.S. Anderson in his films as director ("Resident Evil," "Event Horizon"). Other tech credits are, like the pic as a whole, lazily derivative.
  10. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Cliff Doerksen
    30
    The sort of thing that makes you wish you were playing a video game instead.
  11. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    20
    The movie soon turns into only a production-designed run-and-chase game, and our curiosity about what happened to Earth and the crew is teased and teased again until the movie’s big letdown of a reveal.
  12. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Keith Uhlich
    20
    This is hackwork of the highest order, lacking in all poetry and barely comprehensible aurally or visually.
  13. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    0
    In all fairness, the sheer, overwhelming mediocrity of everything about Pandorum – Travis Milloy's hackneyed, ultra-derivative script, Alvart's plodding pacing and dull direction, even the eventual crimson tide of gore that duly arrives just in time to keep audience members over the age of 13 from dozing off – may well constitute a new breed of horror: In space, no one can hear you snore.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 198 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 91 out of 108
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 108
  3. Negative: 9 out of 108
  1. grandpajoe6191
    6
    "Pandorum" is just a SF-horror flick where survivors run away from alien-like creatures. The question is, did they make it? Yes, they barely made it.
  2. BrianH.
    4
    Was a bit interesting at the beginning but was too reminiscent of Aliens and Sunshine. I am a huge Dennis Quaid fan and that was part of the reason I rented the movie. I was extremely upset when I found out all that Quaid does during 99 percent of the movie is sit in a chair in a locked room. Not a total waste of time, but pretty close.… Full Review »
  3. SuperCookymonster
    8
    Unreal. I've never disagreed more with critic's ratings for any movie. The monsters were nasty and fear evoking. The characters were unique and convincing. The acting was good. The plot was unexpectedly twisting and somewhat epic and there is much more to this movie than what the trailers reveal. The directing was great; the close up shaking shots might not be the best for aesthetic purposes, but they are perfect for emulating what a person would see and feel in each situation they were in. Locked in hypersleep for years with memory loss when waking and finding your ship is deserted with ravenous monsters trying to eat you in pitch black corridors.. What do you think you would see while running in fear for your life with your adrenaline pumping at max?? A nice slow and steady camera pan? Sometimes critics are complete morons.… Full Review »
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