Anne Hathaway plays Claire, a psychologist who has spent more time with books than people and is asked to help counsel these survivors and get them past their grief. Of the handful of victims, one stands out, Eric (Patrick Wilson, The Watchmen). He refuses to go to the group sessions and the crash itself doesn't seem to be affecting him the way it does everyone else, and to top it all off, he spends every chance he can with Claire to hit on her and insist that he is not a patient.
As Claire delves deeper into the events that happen, inconsistencies start to appear between the various survivors' stories. Some remember an explosion while in flight, while others remember trouble closer to landing. When she approaches the FAA official (played by David Morse who has been in everything from The Green Mile to a half-season stint on House M.D.) handling the crash investigation, he insists that it is simply pilot error, and the more they butt heads, the more she gets frustrated by his answers. What's worse is that the survivors who claim to have seen fire on the engines have started disappearing. As the mystery unfolds, everyone starts to doubt everything they know, and as the survivors slowly dwindle away, Claire and Eric have to stick together in order to figure out exactly what is going on.
Now I have to say, we figured out the big twist about halfway through the movie. But even though we guessed the destination, watching the journey and seeing how it all came together was still enjoyable. On top of that, Hathaway and Wilson's on-screen chemistry seemed to be pretty dead on. Hathaway did a great job trying to stay professional, but Wilson's charm and demeanor constantly pulled her into a more personal relationship. They really worked well together.
In the way of special features, Passengers comes with a pair of featuettes that are enjoyable, but feel pretty standard. "In the Night Sky" is your basic making-of documentary that takes you through all of the high points of the film's production, while "Analysis of the Plane Crash" focuses on the visual effects used in creating the movie's central incident.
Passengers is a fairly solid drama peace, with a bit of a conspiracy-thriller thrown in to keep you on your toes, but it's at best a rental since there isn't really a need to re-watch the film once everything had been laid out and revealed.
