I don’t know why, but crazy disaster films that are about 7/10 at best are one of my favourite genres – especially at the cinema.
Moonfall has always looked to have that kind of potential, especially given that it’s directed by Roland Emmerich, who is the absolute Don when it comes to this kind of movie.
The likes of Independence Day, Armageddon, Deep Impact, The Day After Tomorrow and 2012 (to name but a few) are top tier popcorn crunchers…and it’s fair to say that Moonfall slots into that club nicely.
As the title would suggest, the main plot centres on the idea that the Moon has fallen out of its orbit and is on a collision course with Earth.
Naturally, as is always the case with this kind of film, geeky conspiracy theorist KC Houseman (John Bradley) notices this before any of the main space organisations – but nobody will believe him.
That’s until he meets disgraced former NASA astronaut Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson), however.
Harper, once a celebrated astronaut, had a very public fallout with NASA after claiming to have seen an alien force during a catastrophic mission with friend and colleague Jocinda Fowler (Halle Berry) many years previous.
It cost him his wife Brenda (Carolina Bartczak) and a meaningful relationship with son Sonny (Charlie Plummer), as well as his career and credibility.
However, KC’s revelations bring Harper and Fowler back into each other’s orbit and they hatch a hasty plan to go back into space and knock the Moon back into its rightful place.
The X-Factor here is that an alien being is indeed in play here, but I’ll not veer into spoiler territory.
With Michael Pena starring and Donald Sutherland also playing a cameo part, there’s plenty of talent among the cast here.
Story-wise, you can easily split Moonfall into two parts; the space crew and those left on Earth.
While the sci-fi elements deliver and Bradley, Wilson and Berry impress, the rest feel like an irrelevant sideshow with cliched threads crowbarred into their stories.
The special effects are very enjoyable, though, especially one scene that includes a destructive gravity wave.
In short, Moonfall is exactly what I expected it to be. The story is outlandish but fun, but you’ll certainly need to leave your brain at the door. If you can manage that, enjoy the madness.
Voice Verdict: 7/10 (reviewed at Boston Savoy)
