‘Moonfall’ – Review
When it comes to disaster movies there is one director who reigns supreme, Roland Emmerich, and now he supplies his unique mixture of blockbuster mayhem to Moonfall and this is pure bat-shit crazy fun!
A mysterious force knocks the moon from its orbit around Earth and sends it hurtling on a collision course with life as we know it. With mere weeks before impact and the world on the brink of annihilation, NASA executive and former astronaut Jo Fowler (Halle Berry) is convinced she has the key to saving us all – but only one astronaut from her past, Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson), and conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman (John Bradley) believe her. The unlikely heroes will mount an impossible last-ditch mission into space only to find out that our moon is not what we think it is.
Filmmaker Roland Emmerich has a talent for the disaster movie and every time he steps behind the camera to end the world you know it’s gonna be crazy. But Moonfall is a whole different kind of movie. Outlandishly maddening in every way possible, this is Emmerich with the chain taken off and he delivers a big-budget world-ending spectacle that will make your head spin with just how insane it is. Mixing in ideas of the moon literally falling out of orbit, the end of the world, ancient aliens, artificial intelligence and plenty of out-there conspiracy theories, Moonfall is a crazy rush of a movie and it hits audiences completely from left field.
Moonfall is an exercise in sheer unfiltered creativity and in a cinema space that is so confined by genre and convention it makes for a wild watch. Is it extreme? Hell yes it is, but it’s kind of so extreme and so crazy that you just have to sit back and enjoy the ride! There are parts of Moonfall that are so mindbendingly stupid that you can’t fathom how they made it into this film, but other parts that are extremely intriguing. John Bradley is one such part as the rampant conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman who discovers that the moon is falling out of orbit and leads the charge to save the planet. Bradley brings considerable enthusiasm to the part and his inclusion and casting is one of the best parts of the film.
Praise must also be levelled at noted Hollywood star Patrick Wilson who stars as washed-up NASA astronaut Bryan Harper who is called upon to pilot the mission to save Earth. Wilson brings considerable machismo as Harper and is freaking jacked as he walks on screen. Best described as a mix of astronaut and fireman, Wilson fits the description of what you think a movie astronaut should look like and he’s impressive in the part. He has the classic movie hero role down cold as Harper and it’s clear he’s here to just have fun and he does a convincing job in his role as the film’s central hero.
The spectacle in Moonfall is just crazy and if you came here wanting some kind of intellectual film experience you’ll be sadly mistaken. Moonfall is just a straight-up popcorn movie, dialled all the way up to 2,000 on the crazy factor and its third act reveal will literally make your head spin. Yes, it’s mad and out there, but that’s part of the fun and it’s a film that does try something different in the blockbuster space, and you can tell that Emmerich was just throwing everything at the big screen with this one.
If you’re looking for something wild and crazy, Moonfall is the perfect watch. It’s a mental piece of science fiction and audiences seeking a buzz will be in for a wild ride that will literally take them into the stratosphere and back again.
Image: Roadshow Films
