IO

IO is a science fiction film set on a nearly uninhabitable Earth, where a climate catastrophe has left the atmosphere poisonous and most of humanity has relocated to a colony in space. Sam, a young scientist and one of the few people still on the planet, works on ways to make the air breathable again. When the final shuttle is preparing to leave, she faces a choice between continuing her research alone and joining the evacuation. Her plans shift after she meets Micah, another survivor, and the two set out toward the launch site, a journey that becomes a struggle to stay alive.

The film is directed by Jonathan Helpert, from a screenplay by Clay Jeter, Charles Spano and Will Basanta. Margaret Qualley plays Sam Walden, with Anthony Mackie as Micah, Danny Huston as Henry Walden, and Tom Payne as Elon. It was produced by Laura Rister and Jason Michael Berman through Mandalay Pictures, Untitled Entertainment, Baked Studios and Sunset Junction Entertainment, and runs 96 minutes.

IO was released in 2019. Audience response has been modest: it holds a rating of 4.8 out of 10 on IMDb from around 38,000 votes, and 5 out of 10 on TMDB from roughly 1,500 votes. A critics' rating of 4.8 out of 10, drawn from 27 reviews, is in line with those viewer scores, indicating a generally lukewarm reception across both groups.