Netflix Sci-Fi Thriller Turns Hope Into Horror With Avatar Star

The Titan revolves around Rick Janssen (Sam Worthington), a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot who volunteers for an experiment involving 14 subjects designed to adapt human bodies to Titan’s harsh conditions. Along with his wife Abigail (Taylor Schilling), a medical researcher, and their son Lucas (Noah Jupe), Rick relocates to the Titan I research area.

Rick shows promising results at first as he gains new abilities like swimming at high speeds and staying underwater for extended periods. However, the intense training and transformation processes start showing side effects. Rick and the other Titan subjects experience alarming physical changes, such as hair loss and darkening veins.

One test subject experiences a mental breakdown, leading to violent outbursts and a tragic death. Abigail becomes increasingly concerned and discovers that all facets of the experiment were not disclosed to the Titan volunteers. Despite ethical concerns and objections from NASA, Professor Martin Collingwood (Tom Wilkinson), who is leading the research, continues with the trials.

The Titan received dismal reviews upon its release, as evidenced by its current 21 percent rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. While people seemed to enjoy the movie’s themes and visuals, the plot and lack of originality were maligned. However, some of the more positive reviews describe the film as “elevated science fiction.”

The Titan faced various challenges in securing distribution rights, with Voltage Pictures planning to sell international rights at the 2016 American Film Market. In February 2018, Netflix acquired worldwide distribution rights. The film has also been released on Blu-ray in several European countries, including the United Kingdom.

While the film was not a popular release, The Titan poses some interesting theories about humanity and its ability to survive on other planets. In the film, Titan is seen as a very real potential human habitat. However, this portrayal is not entirely accurate from a scientific perspective. In reality, Titan is not considered a viable candidate for human habitation.

The moon’s average temperature is around -285.1°F (-179.5°C), which is much colder than the temperatures on Mars. Titan’s atmosphere is primarily composed of nitrogen and methane, which are not suitable for human respiration. Additionally, the moon’s surface is not capable of supporting liquid water, which is essential for human survival.

In real life, scientists are exploring Mars as a potential candidate for human habitation because it has a more Earth-like environment, with temperatures that can be maintained within a habitable range and the presence of water ice, which could be used for life support and other purposes. So while The Titan weaves an interesting tale, it is not grounded in any real science, which may have led to its failure with viewers.