Moonfall is the latest sci-fi film from the master of destruction porn, Roland Emmerich, the man behind Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and 2012. When you go into an Emmerich disaster film, you know what you’re getting into, and he gave me exactly that. I just wanted to turn my brain off, not care about scientific accuracy or logic, and watch him blow things up in an over-the-top fashion. In my opinion, this is his best film since The Day After Tomorrow back in 2004.
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 destruction, NASA executive and former astronaut Jo Fowler is convinced she has the key to saving us all. Still, only one astronaut from her past, Brian Harper, and conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman believe her. So 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.
Moonfall is right in Emmerich’s playground, and he delivers some excellent destruction sequences that put a smile on my face and also made me laugh because they got as ridiculous as I hoped. He paced the film well, as it runs 125 minutes but felt like a 100-minute film, which is rare for these films as the length is usually felt. Exposition in this kind of film can be hit or miss, but I liked the way Emmerich gave us the cliché exposition dump.
A big reason why Moonfall worked for me is that our three leads, Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, and John Bradley, all play likable characters who are easy to root for. Wilson and Berry do a solid job playing believable astronauts. The opening scene does a great job laying the foundation for how their friendship plays out throughout the film.
Bradley plays my favorite character in the film, and I’m so glad he replaced Josh Gad in this. In his hands, his neurotic conspiracy theorist doesn’t come off annoying like it would of with Gad in the role. Instead, Bradley makes you care for his character and root for him when he proves correct. He is also very charismatic, so the potential cringe comedy worked for me.
While I enjoyed it a lot, Moonfall has its fair share of flaws. The great Michael Peña is primarily wasted in a nothing role as Wilson’s ex-wife’s new husband. He does get one scene that did allow him to show why I’m a fan, but his subplot, which includes Wilson and Berry’s kids, is one that I didn’t care too much about. Every time it went to that part, I would lose interest as the outer space elements were what I was here for. While I enjoyed the VFX on the destruction scenes, the look of the aliens didn’t work for me. It looked cheap and non-threatening at all.
Overall, Moonfall is better than most films we usually get at the beginning of the year. However, if you go in knowing exactly what to expect, especially if you’re familiar with the work of Roland Emmerich, then I feel you’ll be satisfied.
Check it out when it arrives in theaters on February 3rd.
