163. The Titan; movie review

THE TITAN
Cert 15
95 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language, injury detail

"In 15 years, half of the world's population will have starved to death. Time is running out, we've outgrown our home. Our children will witness the end of days."
Tom Wilkinson, playing Professor Martin Collingwood, certainly grabs the attention with his apocalyptic prophesy.
But while the premise and the cast promise much, Lennart Ruff's The Titan fails to deliver on its potential.
This is possibly because it tries to deliver on too many levels.
If it had gone for out-and-out sci fi, focused on the preparations for humans to be ready to acclimatise to the atmospheric conditions of a faraway world, it might have worked.
Or if it had been centred on the family fractures, caused by an astronaut (Sam Worthington) agreeing to be turned into a cosmic superman, it could have resonated.
However, it tries to tick both boxes and chucks in a scientist (Wilkinson) with more in common with Josef Mengele than Stephen Hawking.
Worthington plays a soldier who signs up for an extreme programme of biological change to help save the human race from extinction.
Initially, his wife (Taylor Schilling) supports his endeavour because she is also a scientist and recognises the importance of human guinea pigs.
However, it soon becomes apparent that her husband and his fellow participants are literally becoming different animals to the one she loved.
As said, The Titan could have worked if its makers had kept a closer eye on detail but sci-fi fans will spot at least a dozen impossibilities in its mid-to-early stages and by its finale all reason is completely lost.
In addition, Worthington just looks uncomfortable in a role which demands a range of emotion.
Perhaps, he realised too late that The Titan was sinking.

Reasons to watch: Interesting sci-fi premise
Reasons to avoid: More than a tad crazy

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 4/10

The big question - Could humans really live in another world?

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