Apollo 18

After seeing all the hype over this movie on tv, I was eagerly awaiting its release on DVD. It's an interesting premise - the final Apollo mission that "never" happened according to government sources. Or did it?? It documents, with actual film footage from previous missions, obviously, the moon landing of Apollo 18, the subsequent discovery of extra-terrestrial life, and the resulting implication on both the astronauts and their lives. It wasn't exactly what I had hoped for ... not enough action scenes, a lot of talking augmented with the footage of the moon landing. I'm afraid I wouldn't watch it again. I'm sure the actors did the best job with what little they had to work with. Perhaps it was better viewed on the big movie screen.

Apollo 18(released Sept/11)stars Warren Christie as Captain Benjamin Anderson,Lloyd Owen as Commander Nathan Walker,Ryan Robbins as Lieutenant Colonel John Grey,Andrew Airlie as Mission Control and Michael Kopsa as Deputy Secretary of Defense.This film is yet,(*sigh*)ANOTHER prodigy in the long and ever growing line of Blair Witch Project imitators.Yep the old bait and switcheroo,with fuzzy and fast camera cuts,dark and spooky lighting,strange noises coming from....?,etc.,etc.It is all SO predictable.This latest incarnation takes us to the moon on a mission that never officially existed.The opening tells us that the movie is made up of footage(inference that it is "real") that was uploaded to a certain web site a couple of years ago.
The film is shot using aging techniques quite common in use today,to make it look like 70s film stock.We follow three astronauts from pre flight with their families,to lift off,their journey and orbital path around the moon to two of the astronauts final descent and landing.This classified mission was put together so they could install early warning instruments to detect Soviet missiles.Everything up until the moment they install the devices goes smoothly.Of course we know it won't last forever and on cue the creepy noise interference over their intercoms starts coming through.Then they find strange tracks in the lunar surface.They also find a Russian space module that has landed before their flight and the pilot is dead in a nearby crater.The officials back home give them so much info,but it is obvious they knew about the Russians and their mission.
They start to find things moved around in the LEM and their communications totally fail.They wake up one morning to find the U.S.flag is gone and their ROVER has been tipped over.One of them goes out to investigate and suddenly reports something in his helmet and falls.The other comes out and brings him in.He has limited memory recall on what just happened and they find a laceration on his rib cage.In fact there is something underneath the skin.They manage to pull it out and after a brief screeching noise,they look down and it is just a lunar rock.The astronaut's infection continues and as their LEM has now been disabled by something unknown,they head out to the Russian capsule.Along the way their ROVER gets turned over and the infected astronaut wanders off.The other looks and finds him but watches as he is pulled into a crater by unseen forces.He follows but watches as all the rocks start coming to life around him.He flees to the Russian module and is securely inside.He makes contact with the third astronaut who has been circling above the moon and they agree to rendezvous.Transmission from Earth has now recommenced and NASA is warning the third astronaut not to rendezvous with his compatriot.He ignores his superiors and awaits his buddy's return.However on the way up we see rocks aboard the Russian capsule start to rise and come to life and attack the astronaut.In distress he cannot control the Russian capsule and the craft crashes into the other,most likely killing both.The film ends in a typed post script as we are told the official reasons for the death of the astronauts;all earth born accidents with no bodies recovered.It also mentions that some of the lunar material actually brought back from the moon,has been given away to foreign countries and alot of it has simply disappeared.
I must say for us who grew up and watched these lunar landings way back in the day,this re-creation looks pretty good in so far as the equipment used,both personal and vehicular.But the story is just way too predictable and quite pedestrian,at best.It is yet another case of taking half truths and inferences and making grand leaps of logic to convey a "truthful" message.This is the conspiracy theorists playground and right up their alley.Nice try guys,but no cigars for any of you.
Technically speaking,the film is in its w/s a/r of 1:85:1,with some parts being full frame to simulate the camera technology of the 70s.Extras include multiple endings,several deleted and alternate scenes and commentary.
All in all a complete waste of 86 minutes of film time and yours.

Film peu intéressant.
Histoire faible et très peu crédible.
Un DVD dont on peu se passer d'avoir dans sa collection.