A sad romance about doomed people, or seeing the galaxy by gaslight?

For as long as humans have been telling stories to one another, other humans have found a way to disagree over what those stories mean. Whether its preeminent translator Emily Wilson lambasting Christopher Nolan's adaption of Homer's Odyssey or Star Wars fans debating if Han shot first, our species has an incredible ability to look at the same thing and interpret it differently.

A decade later after its 2016 release, Passengers has ended up largely defined by exactly that kind of conversation. Right from the start, critics and audiences alike were split on their reactions to the film's basic premise. Some watch it and see the intended drama, about crew members on a colony ship who are awakened 90 years ahead of schedule. Others, like Rebecca Hawkes writing for the Telegraph, describe Passengers as "a creepy ode to manipulation." One thing's for sure, a lot of people saw this movie. Passengers made over $300 million at the box office on a budget of about half that, likely leading to lots of heated debates on drives home afterward.

If you're interested in making up your own mind on the subject, Passengers is still on Netflix, but only until Aug. 31.

Passengers is set aboard the Avalon, a corporate-owned starship carrying 5,000 colonists and 258 crew members on a 120-year journey to the planet Homestead II. All the colonists are kept in suspended animation, while automated systems maintain the Avalon.

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