eichler2 Take away the flashy special effects and this movie is basically a retread of many black and white "sci fi" movies from the 40s and 50s. The premise is that the potential for life has been found on Jupiter's moon Europa, so a crew comprised of top experts in their fields is assembled and sent to investigate. Somewhere beyond Mars, solar flares damage their communication equipment, cutting their link to Earth. This film is a now-declassified report of what happened to the mission.To achieve the documentary look and feel, the movie combines interviews with mission personnel here on Earth with jumpy, flicking footage from the space ship's various cameras. To further dramatize and confuse things, the story is told out of sequence. You may be wondering where the ship footage comes from if communications with Earth were cut off and the beginning of the movie strongly implies that the mission ends tragically. Never fear, everything is explained by the end of the film.For a film that prides itself on being scientifically accurate, there are a few howlers that break any kind of suspension of disbelief. The one that got me was when they land on Europa and the captain announces that the outside temperature is "holding steady at absolute zero". What a terrible, ridiculous line. And then to make matters worse, a scene or two later darkness falls upon the moon and another crew member notes that the temperature outside is dropping. Apparently below absolute zero.The movie looks great and has a decent premise, the acting is...acceptable and the ending is actually pretty cool. I really wanted to like this movie - it could have been a great sci-fi film. But instead it goes for jump scares, unnecessary confusion and an eerie atmosphere that turns it into a so-so horror flick.

Stevieboy666 Found footage movie about a doomed manned space mission to explore Jupiter's ice moon Europa. Despite a low budget we have a riveting, claustrophobic and suspenseful film which at times made me feel like I was actually on board with the crew. One of the most memorable scenes involves one of the astronauts floating away from the craft to his inevitable death. Truly haunting. As others have pointed out there are goofs, such as the ability to communicate with Earth without any time delay, but these don't detract from this being a really good, intelligent sci fi movie.

FJWWindsor Ever since Blair Witch, one of the hip trends in the horror genre is the "found footage" concept. One gets the impression that the producers of Europa Report wanted to glam on to that concept and be one of the first sci-fi movies to do so. Unfortunately, it doesn't work here, as the editing makes the story line erratic, disjointed and confusing. I'm still trying to figure out how/why the Rosa Dasque character (the last victim of the failed mission) provides a calm solo narrative supposedly AFTER her apparent death.The basic plot has the potential to be a great one, as I love sci-fi movies that rely on actual science. The filmmakers of ER made a noble attempt at weaving a relevant story, but here, too, they come up short, mainly due to the ensemble. The characters are one dimensional and I found it difficult to care for them. There's about a ten second spot where one of the men is trying to communicate with his three year old son, trying to establish some humanity, but it comes across as cheap and disingenuous. The writers used the right scientific lingo, but the actors couldn't deliver it with any conviction or authenticity. You just didn't get the feel that these people were highly trained scientists.Then there's the mechanics and physical aspects. Presumably, since this space vessel is going to Europa (about 400 million miles from Earth), this film is set in the distant future. The sets, CGI and FX are all products of 2013 production techniques, so that the feel and technology seem grossly out of place. For example, with HD photography and the forward direction it's going, wouldn't you think that the ship would have better on-board/exterior cameras and computer graphics? This, of course, may be explained by the limited budget, as I understand this is an indie film.I didn't totally trash this film because there's a few relatively suspenseful scenes, and I'm extremely forgivable with the suspension of disbelief. I think the filmmakers and actors had their hearts in the right place. But there are other much better sci-fi movies out there. Two I recommend are Ex Machina, one of the most thought-provoking sci- fi films since The Matrix and AI; and Under the Skin, an interestingly quirky film that I found held my attention in a mesmerizing way, despite its lack of action.

Alina Elena Found footage sucks. It's a horrible, lazy movie genre/trope and I can't stand it. That being said, if you want to make a found footage movie, the was Europa Report did it is definitely the best. The image is clear, you understand what is happening, you can hear the dialogue OK, there is no cliché part where a character is running with the camera pointed at their feet. And best of all, it makes sense why it's found footage. The story was believable,and the actors were all great, they did a terrific job. I have a few objections to some of their actions, but for the most part, they acted and reacted as real people would, and not the way characters do because they are in a movie. The Europa Report is a lovely little sci fi movie, really worth your time, even if you can pretty much guess the ending.