3022

• Directed by John Suits
• November 22, 2019 (United States)

Cast

• Captain John Laine-Omar Epps
• Engineer Jackie Miller-Kate Walsh
• Dr. Richard Valin-Angus Macfadyen
• Lisa Brown-Miranda Cosgrove
• Captain Diane Ures-Jorja Fox
• Vincent Bernard-Enver Gjokaj
• Thomas Dahan-Haaz Sleiman

The crew of the space station Pangea suffers stress and considers abandoning their mission when they believe Earth has been destroyed.

3022 is a very low budget film in comparison to the reach of its subject and you need to be accepting of low budget films when going into this. I know there are budget snobs out there. The sets and the effects are just good enough to let you know what you are supposed to be looking at and set up the era in which it occurs.

This film sports some pretty good talent. I cannot complain about the actors. They all elevate the material and are not half-assing it. Judging by production values I am guessing this was done by most or all just for some quick cash, but they do not treat it that way.

In the film, Captain John Laine (Omar Epps) and Engineer Jackie Miller (Kate Walsh) are involved in a romantic relationship by the start. Dr. Richard Valin (Angus Macfadyen) and Lisa Brown (Miranda Cosgrove) are passing their time separately.

Other than doing something she would not normally cast in I have no idea why Miranda Cosgrove is in this. Each character on the station has a clearly defined role but her character appears to have no defined duties. Her part could have been done by some virtually unrecognizable actor. Her character of Lisa Brown says a few lines and then gets injured and dies. Then you see her in a few hallucinations where she just looks weird and then I do not think she is even mentioned anymore. Talk about superfluous!

Unusual for a science-fiction film there are no real villains in the story. No aliens or space monsters cause the problems on the station or the apparent destruction of Earth. The enemy of the story is the self of the crew and fellow humans as they psychologically fall apparent.

Everything that the crew tries to do to survive fails. It works but not as well as they want it to, and they are only buying time. And things only get worse when three months into things a shuttle arrives with three survivors aboard. It is at this point things become a bit more traditional and there is a minor villain to fight-members of the other crew.

3022 is a lot more talking than it is action. It is a lot more psychological than it is cool special effects. Which is good because if it had tried for “Wow!” moments it would have greatly exceeded its grasp. Director John Suits mercifully understood budgetary limitations and kept it simple.

A great deal of you out there may be wondering what the title “3022” refers to. It is the number of days that the film ends on since the crew has been out in space. The film is told in a series of flashbacks/flashforwards and at first that does make things a little confusing until you are comfortable with it. Personally, I think it should have been clearly set in the future and told as a flashback. I thought Laine, whom the story opens on, was hallucinating at first.

3022 is not a film for everybody but it should you should be willing to take a look at it. I give this an if you want.