Moonfall (2022) Review
“Compared to that, we’re the Stone Age.”
Roland Emmerich is back and doing what he seems to abashedly love most; making thinly scripted disaster movies that are simultaneously as stupid as they are entertaining. Moonfall may seem like Emmerich at his most “inspired”, yet when the final act comes around, it can’t help but feel like a cheaply written knock-off of Interstellar. Taking inspiration is one thing but it’s obliviously apparent that Emmerich does not have the tools to tell the emotional sci-fi tale he is going for. And, in turn, uses unearned story beats ripped out of much better films to stitch together into his hodgepodge of a movie. If there’s any true disaster here – it’s the film itself; unable to find a tonal balance and any attempt to do so is met with blatantly one-sided characters and the asinine dialogue that follows. And for as ridiculous as the entire concept is, I wish it at least felt riskier by the finale.
After an unknown extra-terrestrial threat attacks a trio of NASA astronauts, Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) manages to save one of his crewmates, Jocinda “Jo” Flower (Halle Berry), and make it safely back to Earth. Neither the government nor NASA believe Harper’s recollection of the events and he is, in turn, fired from the institution. Several years pass and Harper is now a washed out ex-astronaut who makes a quick buck by giving speeches to children at the Griffith Observatory. One day, he’s approached by conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman (John Bradley) who is convinced the moon is an artificial megastructure that has somehow had its orbit altered en route for Earth. After a series of visually striking cataclysmic events – Harper and Casey end up reaching Jo, now head of NASA, and the trio take the retired Space Shuttle Endeavor to the moon. As if that wasn’t enough to keep the viewers occupied, Emmerich decides to simultaneously trigger a B-Story with some of the most stale characters in recent blockbuster history. These scenes are barely worth mentioning and though probably just as badly written as the A-Story – all we get here is a phoned-in performance from Michael Peña, unintentionally hilarious child actors, and repetitive disaster movie drivel.
Brian, Jo, and K.C. enter the moon and discover it truly is a hollow megastructure; built ages ago by “aliens” in order to survive from the same “swarm” that attacked NASA. The design of this “swarm” allows for some energetic action scenes that are, by far, the highlight of the film. Emmerich is no dunce when it comes to directing CGI-driven action sequences and, in many regards, it felt more visually enticing than a majority of flat-looking blockbusters in recent memory. Where it all falls apart though is an attempt for saccharine character beats and a twist that somehow feels stale compared to the absurdity of the rest of the film.
As much as I believe that Moonfall truly is one of the worst written blockbusters in the past decade, I also have a heavy admiration for it. Somehow, it felt like a blast from the past; no longer high-budget mediocrity that plagues the industry now but truly and unabashedly terrible film. And in that regard, I was heavily entertained; maybe not in the way the filmmakers intended but if it’s worth anything – I still think Moonfall is worth a watch. And I’ll definitely see what Emmerich has to offer next.
