Movie Review: Moonfall (2022)

Summary: 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.

I saw this movie when it came out but I watched it again recently and it’s still pretty wild lol. This will be a short review.

Pros:

Three Main Characters. There are a lot of side characters in the film, such as the main characters’ families. I’m not going to get into them but seeing Charlie Plummer was exciting, I think he’s a great actor. Michael Pena is also always generally great too.

• Halle Berry as Jocinda Fowler. She is a former NASA astronaut now serving as Deputy Director of NASA and Brian Harper’s colleague who once flew together on a Space Shuttle Endeavour mission. She’s not quite happy with the leaders in NASA because they do what some leaders do and lie to the public. When it’s her job to step into the leadership role, she does without hesitation. She makes it her responsibility to save the world and more importantly her son. She’s smart and works hard to make sure they’re able to accomplish the impossible. I’m not a fan of Halle Berry’s acting, but I think she’s fine here. However, I always laugh when she tries to be super emotional because it doesn’t work for me. I think she’s having fun in this role though which is nice. I thought she had nice chemistry with Patrick Wilson and John Bradley when they had to work together.
• Patrick Wilson as Brian Harper. He is a disgraced former NASA astronaut and Fowler’s colleague who flew on a Space Shuttle Endeavour mission. He is washed-up and is estranged from his son. He gets called upon when Jocinda needs him to fly a shuttle without technology. I love Patrick Wilson, I think he’s so handsome and charismatic and I think that’s clear in this role. Brian isn’t the most likable but it’s not like he’s a terrible person, he’s just jaded from how he was treated by NASA, which is understandable. But when it came down to helping his son, even with their strained relationship, he tries. When he discovers that K.C. was right, he’s on board to work with him and then later is pretty much on board to help Jocinda. I think Patrick Wilson was good in his role and I liked that he was ready to do whatever it took.
• John Bradley as K.C. Houseman. He is a conspiracy theorist, who finds out about the Moon being artificial and also discovers the incoming Moon impact towards Earth following his contact with an official from an observatory in Chile. I thought about Sawmill Tarly the entire time to be fair lol, but he’s probably the best character out of the three, with the most distinct personality. He’s awkward and a little insecure about things but he is pretty gung-ho to help even if he needs a little boost. I think John Bradley is likable and K.C. is sweet that when it comes to him really stepping him, you might feel for him.

It’s Fun/Interesting/The Disaster. I think the movie has an interesting premise and while a disaster film isn’t something new, I think the movie jumps right into the disaster and it feels like it’s going at a breakneck pace which allows us to get the interesting stuff quickly. While the storyline takes some wild turns, watching them try to take off in a rocket that only has two engines, while a gravity tsunami is coming at them, watching Sonny (Brian’s son) drive a car while some crazies are chasing them, and jump broken bits of the street, while being pulled by gravity, it’s so wild and fun. Seeing it on the big screen, was amazing. I don’t really care for space movies, but when they actually get to the moon, a lot of the designs were really cool to see. Earth being affected by the moon’s too close rotation was also really cool.

Cons:

The Storyline. I won’t spoil the film but the storyline gets wild lol. First of all, I was kind of on board with the nonsense of it all, I mean the moon falling and causing the issues it causes, is pretty realistic. But the third act of the film and where the story goes, I think is wild. Once we got to the moon, I was like “WTF” and I was no longer on board because it becomes ridiculous.

Side Characters. I’ve seen a few of Roland Emmerich movies but they didn’t make that much of an impact on me to know that this is a thing he does. But apparently, he likes to go back and forth between the main characters and the side characters, who are generally their family. I think this is a fine thing to do because it allows us to see the destruction through other people’s lives and shows us that the hero has something worth fighting for, however, I didn’t care about these side characters. I wasn’t invested. The movie feels way too short, so we didn’t really get the chance to know Brian’s son and his ex-wife’s family or Jocinda’s son, nanny and ex-husband. We know that Brian and Jocinda care about their families because they tell us over and over again, but Brian’s relationship with his son is strained and we’re supposed to care that they’re trying to get to safety…. and whatever lol. I wish that we got to see Brian try to reach out to his son rather them just telling us, like showing us his phone where he’s called but his son never picked up. Just something more for us to be invested in the side characters.

Overall, I think Moonfall is fun and a good time. I guess depending on how you feel about movies that have the potential to be so bad they’re good, or that are cheesy, this movie will be fine. I think the main characters are fine, the acting is fine, the disaster is fun and the storyline starts out interesting and some may get even more interested as the film goes on. On the other hand, the storyline is wild and it lost me once we get some more information about the moon and its issues. I didn’t care about the side characters because the movie didn’t do a good job of setting them up. For me, it goes too far left and knocked off some points. I think it’s an enjoyable watch and a good time, but I don’t think it’s good lol. But again, if you like disaster movies, then this might be right up your alley!

Rating: 2.79 out of 5 stars.

Have you seen Moonfall? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below!

Which Roland Emmerich film is your favorite?

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