My Thoughts on: Moonfall (2022)

*note: this review was originally published on Patreon for my subscribers

In a nutshell: Moonfall is 100% pure dumb fun, but in a really good way.

I knew going in that the plot was going to be batsh*t crazy. I mean, it wasn’t enough to have the moon crashing into the Earth, it’s ALSO secretly an alien spaceship? I just had to see how all of this could possibly fit into a single film and, if you ignore basic physics, it actually tells a pretty decent story. The way I see it, Emmerich came up with the core premise first (the Moon is secretly an alien spaceship) and then spent the rest of his time devising a plot that led up to this reveal because he was so determined to put the idea on the screen.

This movie managed to stuff every disaster movie cliche into it. And the cheesy dialogue, oh my goodness…the cheesiness is almost unbearable at times, but God help me I loved it. With the world continuing to be a messed up place, sometimes you need a cheesy disaster movie with relatively good special effects to take you out of your head for a little while. And in that regard, Moonfall absolutely succeeds. Yes, the dialogue is pretty spotty, and as I said before, I’m almost certain they ignored the basic principles of physics throughout the film, but it is still enjoyable, despite all that.

One of my favorite parts was the completely unexpected chemistry between Patrick Wilson and John Bradley. There’s almost an “Odd Couple” level of chemistry between them that, once it gets established, works really well.for the remainder of the film. I didn’t expect it at all, but I totally loved it.

The disaster scenes play out pretty much like you’d expect them to, though there actually wasn’t as much as I thought there’d be given that the entire planet is being damaged. The space scenes were pretty well done, though there’s one scene late in the movie that gave me flashbacks to Mission to Mars (2000), and in fact it wouldn’t surprise me to find out this scene was in fact an homage to that film.

All of this is to say that if you want to spend a little time with a dumb fun popcorn movie, go see Moonfall. It’s far from the greatest movie ever made, but I enjoyed it, and really in the end isn’t that all that matters? Beneath all the cliches and cheesiness is a decent story that surprisingly leaves a small door open for a sequel. And you know what? I almost wouldn’t mind seeing a followup to this movie, if only to see what they do next.

Those are my thoughts on Moonfall, let me know if you enjoyed watching the movie or if you watch it at all.