Today's News: Hounsou en Reedus getting some air, blowing off steam

Here's another newsflash, two days old by now:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/153886/reedus_en_hounsou_in_hoofdrollen_air

Sources informed me this is a low budget production, and the script sure seems to suggest it, considering this doesn't exactly sound like an original idea. People go into suspended animation because of some catastrophic event, and those few unlucky souls left behind to keep their cryogenic tubes up and running start to unravel mentally, becoming a danger to themselves and their mission, and thus to everybody else. As is the case with many a Sci-Fi plot, I've already seen this concept on Star Trek. Twice, in fact. Remember that episode of Voyager where the ship passes through a lethal nebula and the whole crew is put in stasis except for Seven and the Doctor, and ultimately she is all alone and goes bonkers big time? Or remember that episode of Enterprise where the ship passes through a lethal nebula and the whole crew is put in stasis except for Phlox, and ultimately he is all alone and goes bonkers big time? Well, there you basically have the same plot as in this movie called Air. Circumstances are different, a post-apocalyptic event - in this case, a lack of breathable atmosphere - is added to up the ante a bit, as befits a movie as opposed to a TV show, where everything is bigger, including the stakes involved. As is the case with most post-apocalyptic films, it mostly revolves around the few survivors interacting with each other and ending up unable to cooperate for mutual benefit, so everybody gets screwed over by that unfortunate human tendency.

Dramatically, the most interesting aspect in this regard is the increasingly tense situation between the parties involved, slowly but surely getting ever more hostile until the shit hits the fan. Man simply cannot coexist with his fellow man, even if his life depends on it, is what this type of films usually informs us. But we sure keep enjoying to watch decent actors go at it and reach that intense crescendo. Norman Reedus definitely is no stranger to this subject matter, as he's experienced his fair bit of post-apocalyptic survival troubles playing Daryl on The Walking Dead. However, Reedus' experience as a film actor is so far limited, which is where Djimon Hounsou (Gladiator, Amistad, Blood Diamond) fits right in. The latter's involvement in a low budget picture like this is somewhat surprising, considering his resumé of big budget Hollywood bluckbusters (he's currently got Fast and Furious 7 and Guardians of the Galaxy on his slate), but maybe he just needed a break from all that in favor of something smaller, and probably more challenging. I have faith in both actors's capability to play characters who at their core are good, but will go to any length when survival is at issue. Both have a habit of playing tough, strong characters who take crap from nobody, so they're rather evenly matched. Since both gentlemen are also terrific actors I'll enjoy seeing what they make in this Trek plot rehash, but otherwise this movie doesn't sound particularly noteworthy.