“Voyagers” is a science-fiction film with interesting ideas that grows increasingly frustrating as it becomes apparent those ideas will not come to fruition.

The film becomes increasingly complicated before running out of ideas and just collapsing into a thriller with one long – and quite dull – battle.

“Voyagers” takes place in the near future with the discovery of a new livable planet in a distant galaxy. Since it will take more than 80 years to get there, the idea of just jumping in a ship and taking off is impossible.

The government comes up with an alternative plan – take a group of young men and women to serve as the generational gap. They will be raised to know nothing but the confined spaces so that they can reproduce during the journey and their children and grandchildren reap the benefits of the new planet.

Richard (Colin Farrell), the man in charge of the project, convinces the higher-ups to go on the mission so he can make sure that the young crew will stay on task.

But when a couple of crew members (Tye Sheridan and Fionn Whitehead) break protocol, it sets off a chain of events that has everyone becoming more paranoid and combative.

“Voyagers” is basically “Lord of the Flies” in space, with these young adults struggling to adapt to a new society. Neil Burger’s screenplay begins by hinting at some deep ideas about paranoia and isolation before just giving up and becoming a haunted house movie in space.

But even that idea isn’t fully realized with the final act a battle between the good kids (Sheridan and Johnny Depp’s daughter Lily-Rose Depp among them) and Whitehead’s power-hungry Zac.

The performances are way too subdued given the stakes, but the blame lies more with Burger’s direction than the performances. It’s clear this is the mood the director wants, and it just creates this emotional void that makes it hard for the audience to connect with these characters.

Burger attempts to compensate for this with quick cuts that are meant to convey the characters’ emotions. These moments are distracting and don’t help with the overall narrative.

The end result is a film that never quite takes off. While watching “Voyagers” I was reminded of another recent misfire “Chaos Walking.” Both of these films have promising elements, but both ultimately fall short of hitting the mark – creating a pandemic-era double feature of films that should serve as blueprints of what not to do when making a science-fiction film.

Starring: Colin Farrell, Tye Sheridan

Directed by: Neil Burger

Rating: PG-13 for violence, some strong sexuality, bloody images, a sexual assault and brief strong language

Playing at: Highland Cinemas in Glasgow

Grade: C