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Parents' Guide to

Europa Report

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Smart sci-fi thriller can be intense, terrifying.

Movie PG-13 2013 90 minutes
Europa Report Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 10+

Based on 1 parent review

Criticus
Criticus Adult
December 7, 2018
age 10+

An Uninspiring Report

I hardly know what this movie's message was, and I don't know if it does either. If it is advocating for the greatness of space exploration, why not provide some redemptory hopefulness after such a tale of woe? Or if, on the other hand, it is discouraging space travel (which would perhaps be rather a relief, as nothing much good ever seems to come from these astronomical ventures that always substitute The Endeavours of Man for the God), why argue for the merits of discovery? Without a clearly cut message, this far-flung nightmare voyage through the night sky ends as nothing much more than an excuse for a thriller/disaster that does little more than disappoint and dishearten. I actually sat down with this dud partly owing to Sharlto Copley (probably the reason everyone else watched it), and even that supposed attribute backfired, as he sadly plays a relatively small part. So although it's not the worst, it's a pretty dull and meaningless little "adventure". Hopefully the next space-themed film will be grounded in a little more gravity of real substance. There is no sexual content that warrants concern, and no nudity. Expect some fairly drawn-out, thriller-ish deaths. The violence is of the "peril" variety - no malicious, intended forcefulness. The language is the main problem, with a smattering of lower-level profanities, which I've roughly timestamped for your convenience, as shown below. 18:00 - pi**ed 18:10 - pi**ed 18:27 - G*d 18:30 - sh** 38:25 - sh** 38:47 - sh** 39:23 - sh** 45:35 - sh** 46:55 - sh** 48:40 - Chr*** 49:10 - Son-of-a-b***** 1:05:37 - he** 1:15:46 - he**
1 person found this helpful.
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What's the Story?

Six astronauts (Michael Nyqvist, Sharlto Copley, Christian Camargo, Anamaria Marinca, Daniel Wu, and Karolina Wydra) embark on a lengthy and potentially dangerous mission to Jupiter's fourth-largest moon, Europa. Their goal is to dig under the ice on the surface and search for life forms. On earth, Dr. Samantha Unger (Embeth Davidtz) tries to monitor the mission but must deal with faulty communications. Accidents start happening, and before long these things begin to look like more than accidents. Strange lights appear, and the astronauts' options decrease. Before long, the mystery of life on other planets clashes with the reality of whether or not they can get out of there alive.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (6 ):

Presented in a "found footage" style, EUROPA REPORT embodies the best of that genre. Like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity, it gets by on sound, suggestion, mood, and the power of the unseen, rather than shock or gore. It uses its time to build a generous rapport between the astronauts. They gently tease one another, but there's very little vulgarity or sexual innuendo to turn things sour. When things start to happen, each tragedy is deeply felt.

Additionally, director Sebastian Cordero -- who also made the very good Cronicas -- apparently used actual NASA footage of things like solar flares for a very realistic touch. Indeed, it's difficult to tell the effects shots from the real thing. The sense of isolation and high-stakes survival is clearly palpable. Only a few niggling little details keep it from being a great film, but it's surely a good one -- and better still, it's a smart one.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Europa Report's scariness and violence. What's shown, and what isn't shown? Which has the most impact, and why?

  • How effective is the teamwork between the characters? What could they have done to improve it?

  • Teens: Does this movie make being an astronaut look appealing? What's a real-life astronaut's job like?

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