Name: Ascension (2015)
IMDb: link to the Ascension page
Genres: SciFi, Fantasy Country of origin: USA, Canada.
Cast: Tricia Helfer as Viondra Denninger, Gil Bellows as Harris Enzmann, Brian van Holt as Captain William Denninger, Andrea Roth as Dr. Juliet Bryce, Brandon P Bell as Aaron Gault, Al Sapienza as Councilman Rose, Jacqueline Byers as Nora Bryce, Ellie O'Brien as Christa Valis, Laura Lee Smith as Samantha Krueger.
Directed by: Mairzee Alma, et alia; see IMDb link. Written by: Adrian Cruz, Philip Leven.
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| Ascension cast |
The initial tableaux:
In 1963, a 100 year mission to a near star is launched with a select crew of 600 people. The main action takes place around 2013, or 50 years into the mission.
Over time all sorts of challenges arise, but have been handled, for the most part. However, certain internal pressures have started to break things.
In 2013, outside the project, not everyone is happy with the Ascension project, mostly because it is far from transparent.
Delineation of conflicts:
Those who work on the lower decks (the 'lowers') resent those who lived above (the 'uppers') and have more privileges and resources to use. Not everyone gets permission to reproduce; this does not engender confidence and satisfaction.
The ship's crew seems to be hated by just about everyone. The Stewardesses (led by Viondra) help buffer disputes among groups and gather intelligence. They have more privilege than many, which is cause for resentment.
Councilman Rose spars with the Captain, both for fun and to get a more pliable Captain in place. Viondra, the Captain's wife, tries to blunt Rose's attempts and keep the Captain in place.
In the real world outside the ship, things are busy as well. Harris Enzmann fights to keep control of Ascension, and to handle problems as they arise. Samantha Krueger is hired to find out just what is going on in Ascension. Enzmann and Krueger naturally butt heads. Can Ascension actually continue without Enzmann's guiding hand?
Resolution: Given the faults of the setup, the resolution is pretty clear. This is one more cliche implementation of 'the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.'
One line summary: Fake multi-generational space flight.
Statistics:
Cinematography: 9/10 No problems.
Sound: 8/10 I can hear the dialog. The music occasionally adds tension.
Acting: 5/10 I liked Tricia Helfer and Gil Bellows. I disliked the performances of Laura Lee Smith, Al Sapienza, and Brian van Holt. The rest were indifferent.
Screenplay: 4/10 Meh. There were too many cliches. The hugely expensive experiment is riddled with obvious flaws. The whole project is set up without sufficient oversight and transparency. The goals of Ascension were known to a much too small set of individuals. Worse yet, these were stupid goals.
Most of the show is about the nuts and bolts of real world science and engineering. Then there is a jump shift. Producing individuals gifted with massively strong occult powers is absurd in this context.
The entire final hour was a complete waste of time since the property bounds out of SciFi into the realm of bullshit fantasy. (There is plenty of good fantasy in film; this just was not it. This property was 5 hours of SciFi that is straight-laced to the point of being ho-hum. This is followed by 1 hour of fantasy. Forget this!)
Final rating: 5/10 The butt of this joke is the viewer.
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