Now we got Bad Blood
Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Starring Ariana DeBose, Pilou Asbæk, Chris Messina
Released January 19th, 2024
Rated R
Dr. Kira Foster (Ariana DeBose) is a new appointee to the International Space Station, joining two fellow Americans astronauts and three Russian cosmonauts on board the orbiting scientific research vessel. The six seem to get along alright, sharing stories of their homelands, families, and plans for when they return to Earth. One evening over dinner, someone plays the song Wind of Change by The Scorpions. An American crewmate mocks the song as being cringe, and a Russian snaps back that it’s an important song to him, given that it’s about the fall of the Soviet Union. This exchange easily illustrates the underlying unease between these crewmates from countries who have shared an uneasy history.
Explosions large enough to be seen from the space station startle the crewmates, signaling that a massive war has broken out on Earth. The Americans and the Russians each receive a message from their respective governments ordering them to “take control” of the I.S.S., as the research material they are working on may be the key to winning the war.
Aside from some awful digital blood, the special effects are overall excellent for a mid-budget film. Anne Nikitin’s score is strong, pairing well with impressive cinematography by Nick Remy Matthews that makes good use of the single location, though the film is not presented as claustrophobic as you might expect.
I’m curious if Ariana DeBose’s performance was chopped to bits in the editing room because she plays Dr. Kria Foster as stoic to a fault. Her character is not emotionally engaging, and the same goes for her co-stars Chris Messina, John Gallagher Jr., Costa Ronin, Maria Mashkova, and the great Pilou Asbæk. It’s not that the cast is bad, it’s just that they don’t have a lot to work with.
I found it hard to believe these scientists would be so quick to violence against their colleagues, based on so little information. Should they get back to the planet to figure out what’s going on before doing anything drastic? Nope, time for murder. Perhaps the filmmakers intended this film to be an indictment against blind patriotism (see also: Godzilla Minus One), but at best that would be a shaky reading of a film that isn’t clear enough about what it’s trying to say.
This is an intriguing premise for a thriller, and screenwriter Nick Shafir does a good job mining the distrust that exists to this day between America and Russia. Unfortunately, a good premise is really all the film has. The story doesn’t develop into anything interesting, instead becoming a warmed-over live action version of the video game Among Us. Unlike that video game, I.S.S. isn’t exciting, interesting, or worth revisiting.