Moon Reviews

Moon must be one of the most interesting movies I've ever seen. The interaction between Sam Rockwell and GERTY must be one of the most sincere and superb ever. I think it is a very sophisticated movie, even if it falls into the Sci-Fi genre. It just drags you into it, even if it would seem like a slow movie, considering the few actors it casts, it still keeps you curious. I can appreciate that a whole lot in a movie. It makes it more than interesting.

For many years, Duncan Jones was mostly know as David Bowie's son with a really weird name but it seems that he has managed to find his own voice. Basically, in just two movies, he has succeeded in becoming one of the frontrunners in the Science-Fiction field. Personally, I wasn't exactly blown away by 'Source Code' but it was a really intriguing and entertaining flick but his directing debut was really impressive. I must admit, the whole thing was rather slow and frankly quite depressing but also so fascinating. Indeed, it was visually really impressive and Sam Rockwell gave, once again, a terrific performance. It is quite incredible that this guy, after making more than 50 feature movies, still doesn't get enough regognition for his tremendous talent. The rest of the cast was just a voice-over provided by Kevin Spacey. Honestly, I thought this GERTY would turn out to be, at some point, some kind of HAL 9000 but even though he/it had a really chilly voice, he wasn't really a threat and, eventually, didn't do much. Maybe they could have developped the robot which should follow the orders but decide to make his own decisions but it is never clear what does actually motivate his actions. Still, it is a very cerebral and quite spellbinding Science-Fiction feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

A lot of credit has to be given when a film is carried so well by a single actor. There's not a dull moment to be found in MOON, despite the fact that it is a somewhat bleak film set in space, and despite the fact that the screen is dominated by a lone performer, Sam Rockwell (who plays two "versions" of his character in the movie, but further explaining that would force me to move into spoiler territory). Those who don't like "space movies" may be turned off by the poster for MOON, but the poster is actually deceptive because MOON isn't exactly what you'd call a "space movie," since most of its scenes occur inside the base where our main character is located. While this movie is a little simpler than I would've liked it to be (given the deep subject matter), it still mostly succeeds at what it tries to do.

One of the most interesting aspects of this film is that it gives us the opportunity to make a comparison between how a human being behaves when he is only just starting an arduous venture (a 3-year odyssey in space, in this case) and the state he's in once he's nearing the end of it. Rockwell has the difficult task of embodying both of these personas, and while he's more successful at portraying the latter one (which is surprising, because you'd expect it'd be harder to play a demoralized and worn-out person than to play a physically strong and enthusiastic one), his work is still 100% solid throughout the entire film. The movie also benefits from an intelligent and often witty script ("You look like a radioactive tampon!"), which is so often lacking in so many of the dense and lackluster films that make up this genre.

The other noteworthy subject is MOON's stance on the concept of cloning, and the way in which it gets across its criticism. As I said, going too deep into this would force me to spoil things, but what needs to be said is that, while the film deals with this topic intelligently (for the most part), with a few twists and turns thrown in for good measure, its final moments portray the film's stance a little too obviously, from our protagonist's statement of "We're not programmed, we're people," to the final comments we hear from people on the radio right before credits roll.

If there's one aspect of MOON that is great, it's the pulsating piano-based score that is used during the film's more tense moments. The score during the lighter moments is a bit too "pretty" and conventional for my taste, and doesn't seem to fit the setting all that well either, but the score that is used for the tenser moments is magnificent. Despite the genre, the film doesn't have many explosions or moments in which eye-popping special effects are employed, but that makes sense, because this is more of a pensive cinematic piece, which is something I welcome heartily. With his role in the recent CHOKE, and now his doubly strong performance in MOON, Sam Rockwell has totally established himself as an actor to watch, and once he stars in something more Oscar-baity, there's no doubt that he'll have a strong chance at recognition.

Ancora un film dal budget irrisorio che si è rivelato una piacevolissima sorpresa. Fantascienza molto classica, spazi vuoti e solitari al posto di navi spaziali e guerre galattiche. L'uomo al centro di tutto, anzi al centro di niente, visto che la Terra è lontana (e nel film non si vede mai) e la Luna è deserta, a parte un inquietante computer parlante che volutamente copia, più che citare, l'HAL 9000 di 2001 Odissea nello spazio al punto dal tenere sulle spine uno spettatore senza una ragione endogena che lo giustifichi. A dare il tocco finale, un guasto che taglia i contatti e isola il protagonista e lo costringe a fare i conti con una realtà che a poco a poco si manifesta nella sua forma più agghiacciante e spietata.
Ottimo Sam Rockwell, capace di reggere da solo la scena per oltre un'ora e mezzo.
Questo è uno di quei film che non si fanno più. Ed è un peccato, quando il risultato poi è questo.

After seeing the trailer and a few images of Moon, I was blown away by it so I had very high expectations for this film. When I saw it, I was blown away by it completely! It is visually stunning with 2001: A Space Odyssey-like music and effects. I found it to be a very smart story to watch and I think 2001: A Space Odyssey was the inspiration from this film. I personally think it should be a favourite for a new Academy Awards this year but I'm not sure whether it will be because it so damn underrated!! When only seeing pictures of this film, I was thinking it was going to be an action film as well as a sci fi drama but it wasn't to be. I am glad it wasn't to be honest because I think it would've failed and it would've ruined the drama within the film. 2009 has been a great year for the science fiction genre! Other examples, Star Trek, District 9.


Sam Rockwell's performance as Sam Bell was absolutely terrific!! Rockwell has always been an underrated actor despite a great filmography especially appearing in The Green Mile and Matchstick Men. It was almost like Sam was playing himself because he was playing a character with the same first name as his real name. His surname was different. I have mostly seen Sam play criminals but Sam was playing an emotional character who is a family man so was rather weird to see him play a character like this. It is a new kind of genre for him to be part of too. Kevin Spacey provides the voice of HAL 9000-like computer system Gerty who helps Sam on his mission and looks after him in the base on the moon.


Moon is Duncan Jones's debut and what a great debut it was! One thing that almost all debut films have in common: they're all underrated. His work was a bit like Kubrick's in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Critically and publicly, Moon has been compared a lot to 2001: A Space Odyssey but obviously they do have their similarities but they have their differences too. The screenplay of this film was awesome as well with exhilarating moments during the film as well as mesmerising and mindblowing scenes especially when out in that gravity resistant vehicle that Sam has.


Overall, Moon is one of the most visually stunning and breathtaking films that that has been made in a long time! It is without a doubt one of the best of 2009 and one of the best science fiction films of all time. You CANNOT afford to miss this masterpiece!!

''I hope life on Earth is everything you remember it to be...''

Astronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet's power problems.

Sam Rockwell: Sam Bell

Just two years ago I was immersed, impressed and tantalized by Danny Boyle's shimmering spectacle Sunshine which provided human drama and resulted in being an intense thrill of a rollercoaster. Two years later Duncan Jones releases Moon; a low budget, human drama, set out in space featuring Sam Rockwell(Frost/Nixon); whom happens to be one of the under-rated actors in film today. All of these attributes should mix perfectly to create a film that's highly emotive, beautifully acted and a sight to behold but is this moon landing a giant leap, or just a small step?



An astronaut miner extracting the precious moon gas that promises to reverse the Earth's energy crisis nears the end of his three-year contract; makes an ominous discovery in this psychological sci-fi film; also featuring the voice of Kevin Spacey as computer robot assistant GERTY.
For three long years, Sam Bell has dutifully harvested Helium 3 for Lunar; a company that claims it holds the key to solving mankind's energy crisis.
As Sam's contract comes to a close, the lonely astronaut contemplates returning to his wife and daughter down on Earth, where he will retire early and attempt to make up for lost time. His work on the Selene moon base has been enlightening; the solitude helping him to reflect on the past and overcome some serious anger issues...but the isolation is starting to make Sam uneasy. With only two weeks to go before he begins his journey back to Earth, Sam starts feeling strange: he's having surreal visions, and hearing disjointed sounds.

Let's state the obvious: Moon looks sublime. Similarly to Danny Boyles Sunshine, this low budget spectacle uses effects to enhance the story rather than eclipse it. Mix with some harrowing shots of the environment and you've got a film that dually looks fantastic and, thanks to Clint Mansell's(The man behind the scores of Requiem for a Dream & The Fountain) superb score, Moon sounds great, and unlike the moon itself, atmospheric.
Sam Rockwell is a versatile actor, his range is absolutely phenomenal. One moment he is relaxed and friendly the next he's ready to pummel you into submission in a fit of angry temperament...but let's not spoilt the faceted performance.
This is an Oscar worthy performance from Sam!
My only major discrepancy with Moon was with Kevin Spacey as GERTY(A distant relative to HAL maybe from 2001?) whom does a exquisite job, but sometimes distracts you from the realism that the film strives for. However, all of these elements merge; displaying some fantastic glossy sci-fi. It's the story and the direction that leads me to believe that this is among the greatest films of 2009.

The story is told at a steady pace. The film never compromises and the pacing feels organic, and its this slow pacing that helps generate that feeling of isolation. The filmmakers cleverly, never relent from showing you a deserted hallway; calling it eerie or uncomfortable is a severe understatement. So much so that once the film decided to give us answers you're so involved they seem personal not just to Sam but to us the audience as well. Moon never strays from pulling on your emotions; a phone call to earth makes for one of the most emotional moments of the piece. You might not contemplate that Moon is indeed the sun of this year, indeed Sci-fi is not everyones cup of tea...yet Moon is addictive to any audience; simply because it is not just a sci-fi piece. It's a drama and a story about moralistic questioning...Is cloning humane? or cruel? Is isolation or being alone maddening in time? Can robots have empathy and friendship with humans? Moon is a long list of questions and deep discussion.

Overall, Moon is a faceted diamond in so many regards; it replicates Si-Fi in a way not seen since Alien, Blade Runner or 2001: A Space Odyssey. The direction is methodical, clinically precise mixed seamlessly with the multitude performance of Sam Rockwell. An eerie, disturbing and moving story, but not without occasional bursts of humour(''I'm cold''...''you're sitting under the fridge''), Moon is a refreshing antidote to the unintelligent action-orientated futuristic pieces which has dominated cinemas in recent years. For these reasons alone Moon takes it's place, as one of the highlights and deepest films/stories of 2009.
Simply put: Moon is a radioactive tampon, which will Rockwell your World, so definitely check it out.

"I wanna go home..."

Speaking from a thematic perspective, Moon is the sci-fi masterpiece that The Island could have been had Michael Bay not opted to turn it into a brainless action extravaganza. In many ways, Moon (the directorial debut of Duncan Jones - otherwise known as David Bowie's son) is an affectionate throwback to an age of classic, cerebral sci-fi motion pictures (such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner); it's invested in areas of storytelling patience and hefty psychological investigation rarely explored in an era of Star Trek and Transformers. It's instead a simple story rich in ideas that explores several areas familiar to sci-fi fans: the concept of artificial intelligence, where bioethics is heading, and whether prolonged isolation can cause psychosis.

Moon kicks off with an advertisement for Lunar Industries: Earth's #1 provider of clean energy. This energy comes in the form of a radioactive isotope which is mined on the moon. Sam Bell (Rockwell) is the sole employee at the company's base on the dark side of the moon where he is responsible for supervision and routine maintenance of the mining equipment. As the film opens, Sam is nearing the end of his three-year contract. Due to a mechanical failure, there is no direct link between the lunar station and Earth; Sam can only send and receive recorded messages in order to communicate with his wife, daughter and bosses. An intelligent computer called GERTY (voiced by Spacey) provides Sam's only form of direct communication. But with only very little human interaction, and all of it indirect, he feels that three years is far too long to be isolated. Soon enough, Sam makes a series of discoveries that alter his understanding of his job, his life, the universe, and everything.

The less said about the meatier parts of the plot, the better. Without divulging spoilers, Moon eventually transforms into a morality tale that questions the notion of what's real and what isn't; what it means to be alive and what it means to be human. These questions propel the film towards an unsettling third act which suggests what might happen to humankind if certain technologies were fuelled by corporate greed. More importantly, as the questions pile up, the tension slowly and methodically builds...even after Sam unearths his most shocking discovery. Like Sam, a viewer will spend most of the latter half of Moon attempting to figure out what exactly is going on.

Moon exhibits a lucid influence by Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the nods are both frequent and uncamouflaged. Certain shots recall 2001, there's an effects sequence set to a piece of classical music, and there's the computer GERTY; a virtual clone of HAL (the nuances and intonations of Kevin Spacey's vocal performance even seem visibly influenced by Douglas Rain's voicework for 2001). For emotions, GERTY displays a smiley face that turns into a frowny face or even a crying face every so often, like the cheapest special effect the filmmakers could conceive of. But it works - and this is one of the many examples of the filmmakers' ability to make the most of their meagre budget. To create a science fiction movie with only $5 million would be difficult, yet Jones pulls it off with aplomb. Moon doesn't feature groundbreaking CGI, but it nevertheless remains enthralling from a visual standpoint. An incredibly believable lunar landscape has been constructed - and when the action shifts to the surface of the moon, there's a flawless blend of practical effects and subtle CGI. Sam's living quarters possess a familiar futuristic design that's bestowed with a realistic, lived-in quality almost foreign to this brand of sci-fi (notice, for instance, how filthy GERTY is, and that the areas Sam inhabits seem worn). Sedate camerawork courtesy of cinematographer Gary Shaw as well as Clint Mansell's transcendent, utterly haunting piano score also compound the sense of unearthly isolation.

Director Duncan Jones (formerly known as Zowie Bowie - yeah, I'd have changed my name too) has previously directed commercials. This is his first feature film and it's a promising one. For a film debut, Moon is a surprisingly ambitious effort since sci-fi is a route rarely taken by neophyte directors tackling projects without a huge budget or studio backing. By addressing intimate subject matter and keeping the film's setting mostly within the confines of the moon-base, however, Jones is freed from a majority of the warped conventions that typically define mainstream science fiction. Moon is not Star Wars-inspired space opera; it is provocative, intelligent stuff that takes the elements of "science" in science fiction seriously. If there's a flaw, it's that the film wants to say more than it has time to. In a 90-minute timeframe, the film attempts to make comments about corporate greed, the human mind, the consciousness of technology and other human advances which can't be discussed without heading into Spoiler Land. While these notes are hit well, the film tends to hit them too fast, leaving an audience to contemplate and realise it all only after they've finished watching it. Important plot points are revealed in the blink of an eye as well, and while you attempt to put it all together, the story progresses on-screen.

A terrific performance submitted by Sam Rockwell keeps a viewer caring throughout the narrative. Because there are virtually no other human characters in the film, much of the success of Moon rested solely on the shoulders of Rockwell. And it works! Rockwell (a character actor who has featured in such recent films as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Matchstick Men, but has not yet managed to break through into genuine Hollywood stardom) deserves to be an Oscar contender given the weight of the material he manages to nail here - the actor delivers an affecting and credible portrayal of a loner who yearns for home, with later plot developments allowing him to show different facets of the role. Not only does Rockwell keep an audience rapt (much like Tom Hanks did for much of Cast Away), but he also puts a human face on some hefty themes.

While Moon begins like a hodgepodge of various other sci-fi flicks, director Jones and screenwriter Nathan Parker are able to breathe new life into these familiar elements; creating something unique, fresh, mesmerising and exhilarating. The conclusion is perhaps a bit too tidy, but it gives the story a sense of narrative resolution while also suggesting that larger issues are a long way from being resolved.

Moon is truly a contemporary horror movie which eschews a wearisome slasher mentality to explore the nature of identity and the perversion of human life through scientific advances and corporate skulduggery. It asks proper, stimulating questions without being cold, aloof, pretentious or even remotely boring. And it works as all the best sci-fi does - by employing special effects to complement a genuine, thought-provoking human narrative. It's not that there's anything wrong with escapist entertainment like Star Trek, but Moon is closer to the expectations of die-hards when they hear the term "sci-fi". It's very different from glossy sci-fi blockbusters - and far more satisfying.

8.8/10