Pedro Pascal has finally established himself as Hollywood’s “Daddy” with his role as grumpy smuggler Joel in “The Last Of Us.” The star himself takes the fact that the internet has given him this nickname with a lot of humor and has already teased his fans’ obsession with his (substitute) father roles in a sketch on Saturday Night Live, for example.
But the reputation that Pascal has built up for the role of initially reluctant protector is no coincidence: who sees how Pascal, as the morally not completely flawless Joel in ‘The Last Of Us’, reluctantly takes the young Ellie (Bella Ramsey) under his takes his guard, you probably can’t help but think about the fact that Pascal’s Din “The Mandalorian” Djarin also became a father figure to the foundling Grogu. And even before that, Pedro Pascal played the protector of a young orphan in an inhospitable world – namely in the sci-fi adventure “expectation“, which I would like to highly recommend as today’s streaming insider tip.
You can’t currently watch “Prospect” with a subscription, but you can rent the film for streaming cheaply from providers like Amazon & Co. So if you’re still looking for a movie recommendation for tonight, check it out.
“Prospect”: Fresh, original and beautiful
In ‘Prospect’, young Cee (Sophie Thatcher) and her father carry out a dangerous harvesting job on an alien planet. When the two of them travel on a moon with a poisonous atmosphere, they encounter two bandits – after a shootout, one of the strange men is dead, but so is Cee’s father. Out of necessity, Cee and the dark stranger Ezra (Pedro Pascal) together, because after Cee’s transport pod is damaged, their best chance of getting out of this hostile place lies by working together.
Two very different personalities, armed with pistols, working together and crossing an inhospitable landscape could also happen in a Western – only here the protagonists are in spacesuits and their oxygen is slowly running out. As familiar as this premise may sound: ‘Prospect’ feels fresh and original because it isn’t a big sci-fi spectacle with CGI effects and space battles, but a small, intense story driven by well-written characters that is also visually stunning, even if the big bang effects are missing.
It’s not just the opening scenes, which take place in Cee and her father’s spaceship, that look like they’re made out of space junk, but that’s why they look extremely authentic, they look amazing. Above all, it is the setting moon that on the one hand seems familiar (that is, simply like a jungle), but at the same time intoxicatingly strange. – particles constantly glittering in the air and sensationally good, atmospheric lighting are sufficient for this. And anyone who likes to be enchanted by strong, enigmatic sights can look forward to the ‘red man in the box’ – Even after watching the movie several times, it still sends shivers down my spine.
Before Joel & Ellie, there was Ezra & Cee…
But the heart and soul of the film are the characters and their relationships with each other. In fact, things slowly grow between the newly orphaned Cee and the eloquent, almost poetic Ezra. a relationship of trust that always seems to be on the brink. Because as charming as Ezra may seem, who shares his love of books with teenager Cee and builds a bond with her, he is also a thief and murderer. And his only goal is to escape alive from this magical, dreamy-looking but deadly landscape – at any cost, as it initially seems.
Speaking of “eloquent,” here’s a very personal extra tip: Do yourself a favor and watch the film in the original English version (possibly with German subtitles). Because dubbing Pedro Pascal’s slightly rough yet buttery voice is simply a crime (nothing against voice actor Ronald Nitschke!). In the original atmospheric sound, on the other hand, the special comes across much better: people often wear space suits and therefore speak somewhat “muffled” or sometimes with heavy breathing.
As the unlikely duo wander through the jungle, In her struggle for survival, she is not only connected in a figurative sense, but also literally. Because there is only one functioning oxygen pack left, and the two are connected by a tube – which makes it harder for them to move, but also creates a threatening relationship of dependency that makes it all the more important that Cee and Ezra learn to trust each other . And trust becomes even more important for the duo when they ultimately have to provide each other with medical care.
Growing trust – and betrayal?
In terms of narrative, the story is not always executed flawlessly by directors Zeek Earl and Christopher Caldwell, who made ‘Prospect’ based on their own short film ‘Prospect’ of the same name – a lot remains open, and that is not always the case. It is completely clear whether the audience has to consciously close the gaps here or whether the story is not fully told. After all, as I said, the plot of a short film was used here for a feature film.
But none of these minor imperfections make “Prospect” feel boring. There is too much to discover, the question of how to solve many difficult situations is too exciting, The verbal duels between the stubborn but actually very sensitive Cee and the intellectual killer Ezra are too fascinating.
You can almost feel how both characters, despite their superficial, rough appearance, long not to be alone in this universe that doesn’t seem to make things easy for the underdogs – and the tension becomes less and less. But the spark of possible betrayal is still palpable until the end. And to find out if it ignites, you have to “expectation‘But see for yourself. Of course I don’t want to reveal that here.