It was almost worth watching until it was not. Passengers is the future-set outer space picture where the hunky lunkhead Chris Pratt comes out of hibernation ninety years early before the spacecraft occupied with more than five thousand are to reach a new planet habitat, and out of desperate loneliness decides to wake up attractive female passenger Jennifer Lawrence to keep him company. Pratt supposes he can get her to fall in love with him as long as he hides the fact that he woke her up to a life of doom, since they cannot reactivate the pods.

The reviews for “Passengers” are full of a lot of grief of how self-serving and immoral Pratt’s actions are. I’m sorry, but I think Pratt plays a man of guilt very well because he can come off as a lunkhead who could put me-first emotions before another person’s – plus it is funny to watch him deviously romance Lawrence. No, “Passengers” is a good movie to me for a little more than an hour until it goes into brain disposal. Let’s just say the spacecraft succumbs to malfunctions with one thing after another screenplay conveniences. And did the screenwriter ask himself, “So are we just going to wake up one person at a time as a way to solve each new plot turn?” It does have though one great special effect: a swimming pool coming apart from anti-gravity.

There’s nothing wrong with the technical effects of “Passengers,” but the storytelling dovetails into a bore. Michael Sheen as a bartender android keeps things wryly amusing.

108 Minutes. Rated PG-13.

SCI-FI & FANTASY / MINDLESS FUN / WEEKEND SPACE-OUT

Film Cousins: “Silent Running” (1971); “Sunshine” (2007); “Wall-E” (2008); “Moon” (2009).