IO: Grand Ideas With Underwhelming Execution

IO is the type of sci-fi that seems to have become even more prominent in recent years. As we continue to destroy our atmosphere through overpopulation and pollution, scientists and writers alike have looked up at the stars, wondering if our future lies there after we one day destroy our planet beyond retribution.

It’s an idea that has existed likely since the beginnings of sci-fi itself, yet in recent years, as climate change has moved us even closer to this possibility, movies have followed suit. As with any genre, though, there will be those that stand the test of time, and those that almost immediately start to fizzle out. Unfortunately, IO is of the latter group.

I Am Legend Meets Interstellar

In the not-too-distant future, Earth’s atmosphere has become toxic. Almost everyone has abandoned our planet for a space station located close to IO, a moon of Jupiter, where they will remain until they can find a suitable new home. Sam (Margaret Qualley) is one of the few remaining humans living on the Earth’s surface, having stayed behind with her father Dr. Henry Walden (Danny Huston). Henry believes that Earth could recover from her present predicament, and the two do research involving beehives in order to prove this hypothesis.

When we first see Sam, though, she is alone, still engaged in the research that her father had assigned to her. Soon, another man arrives, named Micah (Anthony Mackie). The two become close, and eventually abandoning all hope, decide to head to the final launch site in order to leave Earth for IO.

There are many comparisons to be made in IO, from the above-mentioned I Am Legend and Interstellar to even a movie as decidedly different in tone as Wall-E. The idea of an abandoned planet, inhabited only by a few lone stragglers, is at once both a haunting and somehow comforting one as well. IO, though, is much more limited in scope than any of those mentioned, which in this way reminded me more of last year’s Prospect, a film taking place on a deserted planet and also almost exclusively starring two people.

Whereas that film was impressively shot and engaging, though, and containing a complex relationship between its two central characters, IO has barely any substance to it. Sam’s initial excursions, in which she routinely does tests in the polluted city of New York, and then gathers water and food, is at first somewhat intriguing, especially witnessing the misty, foggy streets of the city, showing how nature has taken over. But even here, the film is often unnecessarily accompanied by a voice-over by Sam, presented as the emails she has been sending to a loved one currently stationed on IO. It’s but the first sign that IO doesn’t trust its audience enough to follow its story without having constant assistance along the way.

Once Micah enters the picture, the pristine setting is even more interrupted by stilted dialogue, in which the film has a tendency to overtly state its themes. In the first few moments of meeting, for example, Micah explains to Sam a long-winded Plato quote about love and the necessity of human connection. As opposed to simply allowing us as the viewer to gauge the organic connection that could eventually form between them, instead this moment forcefully sets up the romance that will follow.

Dual Performances

Margaret Qualley and Anthony Mackie aren’t entirely to blame for their lack of a legitimate connection; however, due to the film’s underdeveloped nature, their performances do often come across as unenthusiastic. For a movie that almost exclusively stars the two characters, Jonathan Helpert and writers Clay Jeter, Charles Spano, and Will Basanta really had to work harder at providing more interesting backstories or quirks for the characters, such that we as the audience would be on board as to their current situation, and the eventual path that they take. Instead, what we’re left with is two seemingly bored individuals that happen to meet up, and then out of nowhere decide to spark a romantic relationship.

To hearken back to the aforementioned Wall-E, that film, with all its charm and humor, somehow made the emotional connection between two robots more believable than the humans in IO.

Strong Ending, But Not Enough Buildup

The ending of IO almost makes one look back at the entire product with some positivity. Rather than proceeding in a generic direction, instead it presents a more thought-provoking idea, especially given the direction that most of these types of films head towards. It’s not entirely unexpected, but I appreciate when something at least attempts to subvert your expectations.

A strong ending, though, does not necessarily wash away the shortcomings of the film as a whole. The themes of the film, as stated earlier, come to full fruition here, and looking back at the hints as to what was coming, it’s soon evident just how obvious and in-your-face they are as opposed to being more subtle. Movies should be able to adequately present ideas without making them super obvious, and likewise should be able to express themes without explaining them through something as overt as a work of art, which here is explained while using the words of the famous Yeats poem “Leda and the Swan.” It’s also the second film in only the last few months to use theme bees (the other being last year’s Leave No Trace). Essentially, the optimistic outlook presented through the film’s final lines, instead of feeling earned, come across as shallow and underdeveloped.

Conclusion: IO

IO has plenty of strong ideas behind it, and in addition can occasionally be a visually stunning treat. Ultimately, though, it’s just not quite enough. A forced romance, lackluster execution, and a tendency to pander to its audience makes IO come up far shorter than it otherwise could’ve been.

What are your thoughts on IO? Are you a fan of low budget original sci-fis? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

IO is currently streaming on Netflix.