The wind whips against the metal of the exterior. Rain cuts the crew‘s faces, who are doggedly fighting the elements in order to snatch some fish from the sea. The storm gets stronger and threatens to tear the station to pieces. But it stands solid as a rock. In the morning, the calm has returned, and the sun shines over the endless sea, which covers 90% of the earth`s surface, since people have destroyed each other and also nature. Only two continents remain and they‘re waging a decade-long war for supremacy. The station is the last outer post and protector of a weapon that would end the war and eradicate humans once and for all. This is why commander Hendricks has made it his mission to defend the post with everything he‘s got. He only has second commanding officer Cassidy, soldier Sullivan, and mechanist Baines by his side. When doubt creeps up about how meaningful this mission really is, Hendricks fears a mutiny.

The premise of Tanel Toom‘s second feature is promising, the tension in the opening is high. However, this is misleading, because the Estonian director, whose short film THE CONFESSION was nominated for an Oscar in 2011, is more concerned with creating character studies. This turns out to be quite one-dimensional, and the useful crew of Kate Bosworth (SUPERMAN RETURNS), Lucien Laviscount („Emily in Paris“), Martin McCann („The Survivalist“), and Thomas Kretschmann, who is currently playing a Nazi in the new INDIANA JONES, can‘t make much from the material that is given. What is most memorable is the interesting scenario which comes alive through the convincing visuals.

Lars Tunçay

Translation: Elinor Lewy