Moon (2009)

 

 

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Moon is the best sci-fi movie in a long time. Duncan Jones, son of David (Bowie) has scripted and directed a wonderful thinking man's space movie. Sam Rockwell, playing the only resident of the moon, handles pretty near the entire movie and captivates you every step of the way. Kevin Spacey voices the computer, Gerty, an obvious homage to Douglas Rain's voicing of H.A.L. Spacey does a fantastic job, and Jones adds the touch of emoticons -- when Gerty says something, his screen displays the appropriate smiley, frowny, or what-have-you. Sometimes these emoticons reveal things that Gerty himself didn't want to communicate. Indeed, Gerty's motives will be questioned the entire movie, thanks partially to Spacey's creepy voice.

Sam Rockwell is Sam Bell, an employee of Lunar Industries over 100 years from now. Poverty on Earth no longer exists thanks to the Moon, and its ample deposits of helium3, which is used in fusion reactors. Sam maintains the equipment and gathers the helium3 from the giant harvesters scouring the surface of the moon. He then sends the helium3 home via capsule. There is no real-time communication with Earth, however, only recorded messages, due to a faulty satellite. Bell is feeling horribly lonely. He has been on the Moon for 3 years and his contract expires in 2 weeks. All he wants is to see his wife and child again. Paranoia and strange hallucinations are starting to set in.

All this sets in motion a story that twists and turns, and weaves information skillfully. Threads and clues are left for the viewers, who must question everything they see on screen. Sam too will question reality, question his surroundings, his existance, and his purpose. Sometimes stirring, sometimes mindblowing, Moon is never boring. Imagine that -- a real sci-fi movie that still has you on the edge of your seat! Are you listening, Michael Bay? The only lapse, and the only flaw with this movie was that there was sound outside. When Sam goes to the surface of the moon, there was sound which is impossible. That is my only complaint.

The idea of mining helium3 on the moon is based on real science. Indeed, astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt, the only geologist to go to the moon, discussed the idea in an issue of Popular Mechanics. It had been written about in many science books as well as a way to finance colonization and exploration. Truly, this movie is the sci-fi fan's dream and the many ideas presented (about many other topics that I will not spoil) will give you something to think about for months.

Truly, Moon is one hell of a story. Cudos to Rockwell for manning the whole movie himself, and cudos to Jones for this amazing script. The story is intricate. Every frame on the screen relays important information to the viewer about what is going on, and it is up to you to figure it out before Sam does. There is not a frame wasted, everything in this movie means something.

The sets and effects are simple but effective. This is the moon after all, not Pandora. I imagine that this is what it really looks like up there. It is certainly a convincing film.

Get Moon. Watch it tonight. You won't be disappointed. 5 stars.

==Edit August 2010==
I was given a blu-ray copy of the movie and recently re-watched. While I generally try to avoid re-buying films I already owned on DVD, it was a gift and it was well worth it. This movie is crisp and clear on blu-ray. I can only guess that the 1080p picture is as close to being there as I'll ever get!

Don't read the spoilers for this film. If possible, don't read anything about it. Just watch it. I liked everything about this film: the premise, the script, the directing, the acting, the pace. Sam Rockwell does an amazing job. Every couple years a great indie SF film comes out, for example Primer, and Moon is exactly that. Futuristic, yet plausible in a sick kind of way. One of the best of the year.

I really enjoyed this movie. I think I always knew what was going to happen. Kevin Spacey has an excellent robot companion voice.Moon (2009) [Blu-ray]

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5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best directorial debuts?
Moon (2009)
Drama, Mystery, Science Fiction, 97 minutes
Directed by Duncan Jones
Starring Sam Rockwell and the voice of Kevin Spacey

Do you remember a... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Steven Aldersley

5.0 out of 5 stars A quiet, confident film; a strong new voice in cinema
Once in a while, a movie will stand out in my mind long after I've seen it. I saw Moon months ago, but I can still picture myself, sitting on the living room couch, frowning... Read more

Published 15 months ago by Andre Farant

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Science Fiction
This film restores my faith in the future of science fiction; it's not about action and instead uses the genre to provoke and explore facets of the human condition that would... Read more

Published 16 months ago by G. Perkins

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing and Evocative
Sam Rockwell does a wonderful job as Sam Bell, an astronaut spending three years alone as caretaker of an automated moon mining operation. Read more

Published 17 months ago by Phil Gerald Seaker

5.0 out of 5 stars pitch perfect
What a sleeper of a sci-fi movie! It's way cool, way intense, way intelligent, way well acted and way Spacey--Kevin that it who plays the voice of Hal... Read more

Published 21 months ago by Brian Maitland

4.0 out of 5 stars This is not about teenagers with their bare posteriors stuck to the car window.
Yes, this is another movie of which we could draw parallels between this and several other movies that we seen and know and love. Read more

Published 22 months ago by bernie

4.0 out of 5 stars Man on the Moon: an inventive independent science fiction film, with a brilliant performance by Sam Rockwell
In a not-so-distant future, Earth's energy is being supplied through extraction of Helium-3 from the Moon. Read more

Published on Mar 25 2010 by Nathan Andersen

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant SF
Moon is one of the finest science fiction films of recent years. From its lovely special effects work, largely done with real models, to its script and characters. Read more

Published on Feb 23 2010 by CalgaryAlphan

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding back the real roots of science-fiction
Unlike most recent science-fiction movies this story is not a revamped medieval plot of bad vs good. Read more

Published on Feb 9 2010 by Denis Carl Robidoux

3.0 out of 5 stars I'm not as enthusiastic as the other reviewers
I love science fiction movies but this one just didn't make the grade for me. I found it slow-going and, at times, difficult to hear. Read more

Published on Feb 8 2010 by Sheila J. Croome

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