Voyagers

If we’re to believe Voyagers, what happens when you strand adolescents aboard a wayward spaceship is a lot like what happens when they’re stuck on a remote island.

This stylish science-fiction thriller uses an intriguing premise to take Lord of the Flies into the cosmos. Yet it lacks the character depth to generate deeper emotional insight, and the sense of dread necessary to drum up enough suspense.

The film opens in the year 2063 with vague mention of a “deteriorating situation” on Earth that will require humans to eventually relocate to a colony on another planet. Scientists have found an option, but getting there requires an 86-year mission — and that’s just to scope it out.

Out of desperation, officials hatch a plan to train a diverse group of about 20 prepubescent astronauts, who would then reproduce during the journey, and their grandchildren would become the potential saviors of humanity. They are led by a captain (Colin Farrell) who likewise won’t survive the voyage.

Given their predetermined fate, the children’s lives are structured with a robotic mundanity assisted by daily doses of a blue serum, which perpetuates an emotional detachment, both from each other and their hopeless situation.

Flash forward to their teenage years, and the intellectual Christopher (Tye Sheridan) becomes suspicious. The chief medical officer (Lily-Rose Depp) follows suit, along with Christopher’s impulsive buddy (Fionn Whitehead).

As word spreads, it’s not long before restlessness turns to rebellion. Hormones are running rampant, a power struggle ensues, rumors circulate about a possible alien invasion, and the resulting anarchy threatens more than just the mission.

The screenplay by director Neil Burger (The Upside) requires pardoning the significant logical gaps. Burger keeps the focus on the mission, deliberately avoiding any broader sociopolitical context, and instead emphasizes the ethical ramifications for these human pawns whose entire lives are meant to exist inside this cramped and sterile ecosystem.

Such a claustrophobic setting, of course, contrasts sharply with the vastness of outer space the teens can see outside their windows. Yet the film stalls when it downplays the sense of wonder and discovery in favor of juvenile melodrama and contrived action subplots.

What’s meant to be a character-driven study of primal instincts instead becomes trapped in a narrative corner. Like its passengers, Voyagers is left with no means of escape.

Rated PG-13, 108 minutes.