NON-CORE VALUES: Antje Traue and Ben Foster star in 'Pandorum', in which he has to go to their spaceship's core to find out what's going on. But it's all a bit tedious Picture: JAY MAIDMENT

The condition this movie is most likely to elicit may be tedium, but if there's one thing to say in its favour, it's certainly a very undemanding cinematic experience.

And sometimes, when all you're looking for is an excuse to scarf some popcorn and sip your Slush Puppy, that is all you need.

The opening sequence sounds a cautionary note about humanity's fate on planet Earth. It's the not-too-distant future and Earth can no longer sustain the exploding human population.

The spaceship, Elysium, takes off in search of a new home.

On board, Ben Foster, the poor man's Ryan Gosling, awakens from a cryogenic sleep to find that things haven't gone quite according to plan. The spaceship appears to be drifting through space on autopilot, the crew long gone.

He is joined by a slumming-it Dennis Quaid, who wakes up shortly after. Both are disoriented, and suffering temporary amnesia.

Who are they? What is their mission?

As their memories begin to dawn on them, so does the terrifying realisation that they're not alone, after all.

In fact, via some quick cuts, they appear to be on board with some refugees from Middle Earth - these not-so-scary critters look way less Alien and way more Orc - who are hungry for human flesh.

Naturally, their only hope involves Foster travelling to the alien-infested ship's core, where they hope to jump-start the engine and get back on course.

To that end Quaid stays behind the ship's computer to guide Foster, using a radio transmitter.

Foster discovers two unknown actors, Cung Le and Antje Traue, fellow astronauts fighting for their lives, who become his reluctant allies.

Possibly due to budget constraints, the special effects are minimal and an inordinate amount of time is spent crawling through dark tunnels, with the occasional jolt of an alien ambush.

The deeper the survivors travel, the more secrets are uncovered about the ship and its unlikely inhabitants, and the movie takes so many twists and turns you'll be rolling your eyes by the time it reaches its grand finale.

But somehow the film manages to squeeze out a few thrills along the way, and what it lacks in ideas it partly makes up for in atmosphere.

Just don't expect Pandorum to rock your universe.