After a routine space mission goes wrong, Astronaut Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) is stood down from active duty. He claims that while he was in space, he witnessed something out of the ordinary, but sadly, there were no witnesses to this experience. His fellow crew member, Jo Fowler (Halle Berry), was unconscious during the incident. In the end, Brian was left to defend himself at a hearing, and it didn’t end well for his career or reputation as an Astronaut.
As time passes, the Earth is threatened with something quite horrific. Somehow, a strange force managed to move the Moon out of its orbit, and it is now travelling straight towards Earth. Space fanatic K.C. Houseman (John Bradley) makes the major discovery, but he struggles to find anyone who will believe him and his critical findings. He decides to reach out to Brian with hopes that he will believe him and utilise his space and people connections so that somehow the word of his findings can travel faster. At first, Brian refuses, but he soon admits that something is offbeat in space. The world now only has several weeks remaining until it’s destroyed completely by the Moon, and it’s up to Brian, Jo and K.C. Houseman to work together and find a way to save the Earth.
If you’ve ever seen a Roland Emmerich film, such as 2012, The Day After Tomorrow or Independence Day, you will know what to expect. The story begins with something loud and exciting, but the major plots points are predictable and far too familiar- there’s a large threat, and it’s up to an unlikely group to come together and save the world. It doesn’t take long to find a familiar vibe, pace, and style and this style is certainly nothing new. But by the final act, the plot becomes so far fetch and absurd that it jumps off the rails, pushing to the extreme, which I’m confident many viewers won’t be expecting.
Visually, Moonfall is fairly satisfying and it is best experienced on a big cinematic screen. It is a brainless adventure film, and the effects of watching Earth getting destroyed or sequences that occur with our leads in space are easily the biggest highlights. I was generally invested in the film’s opening and mystery, but things only seem to go downhill from here.
Unfortunately for Moonfall, its plot and characters are extremely weak and filled with the typical disaster movie clichés. Moments like a stranger being smarter than NASA is just one example. The leads are generally unlikeable, and honestly, I struggled to find a connection (or care) with any of them. In an attempt to make us care about the leads and their challenges, we are shown their family dramas while at the same time the Moon is headed to Earth. With many cuts back and forth between the main and side characters, including witnessing key decisions being made at Nasa, I found it challenging to be passionately involved with this film and its characters. Any deaths that occur on-screen are also surrounded by emotionless reactions, which baffled me to my core. The attempted humour and comedy here are cringe-worthy and fail to deliver real joy.
Overall, while this film begins with a bang of excitement, it soon fizzles in orbit the more the film progresses. The visuals are the biggest strength here, and moments of the Earth being destroyed and space sequences look splendid. As a disaster movie, I found this film to be far too familiar with its storyline, pace, characters, and other key elements. Moonfall fails to deliver likeable characters and an engaging story that feels gripping, fresh and exciting. By the third act, I was shocked to see how it had jumped off its rails and become something far different than I expected (and not for the better either). Fans of disaster films will find the most enjoyment here, but I can’t deny these kinds of films are becoming repetitive.
4.2/10
4th February 2022
Written by Peter Walkden
WALKDEN ENTERTAINMENT
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