Moonfall (2022)

A bit messy, this.

'Moonfall' is actually good in areas that I was expecting it to be bad in and bad in areas I thought it might've been good in. I had caught one of the trailers - at the cinema for a different film - and didn't hold high hopes for it, especially with the 'Don't Look Up' similarity, though thought the humour/silliness might carry it over the line.

Yet, the humour is poor and it's in fact the more serious elements that come to the fore. I honestly enjoyed the sci-fi bits of it and the more dramatic stuff. The comedy is very lame, I don't think I even smirked once to be honest. They should've just played it totally straight, in my opinion anyway. The special effects, meanwhile, are a positive.

The cast, when not comedic, work fairly well together. Halle Berry, John Bradley - who may be at the front of the limp jokes but he as an actor is likeable enough that I didn't dislike him at all - and Patrick Wilson - who I always forget the name of, I was literally trying to recall him throughout the film and I still didn't crack it - are a solid trio when serious. The support cast, spearheaded by Michael Peña, are meh.

Unfortunately it's a 6/10 rating from me. I do like disaster movies - '2012', Roland Emmerich's best, is great - but this one fell short; particularly towards the end. I wouldn't, personally, say it's as bad as that average rating chart suggests, but to each their own of course.

Fmovies: 6/10 - with the visuals of a true space blockbuster, this B movie features nonsensical dialogue, many many charcaters that serve absolutely no purpose, and an absolutely insane third act...but nonetheless, it's fun.

Wow. But in a bad way. First off, how did they think they were gonna sell tickets for this movie, while only 2 months ago, the brilliant "Dont Look Up" was released, with a similar "end of the earth" plot? Better watch the brilliant AND funny "Dont Look Up" movie, instead of this completely sillly garbage.

The bad nr 1: this story is so completely incomprehensible stupid that characters in the movie are explaining the INCOMPREHENSIBLE and SILLY storyline to each other! Pfff...get outa here....

The bad nr 2: these actors once were reasonably good actors, but they are now over the hill. They are now entering B-movie territory with Moonfall, which as a movie is NOT thrilling, NOT funny, NOT dramatic. What's left?

The bad nr 3: director Roland Emmerich once (ONCE LONG LONG AGO) was a succesful blockbuster movie director during the nineties. Back then Roland Emmerich's CGI effects were totally new to the worldwide cinema audiences and quite impressive to watch and although some CGI scenes now still do kinda impress a bit in this movie, most of this CGI world looks quite cheap and fake. I really dont like it when there is lack of realism in scifi movies.

Not any good at all? I honestly cant think of any, because everything is below average. I guess that the actors starring in it, will want to forget as quickly as possible that they ever took part in this cheap looking rubbish...

Moonfall fmovies. It may seem far too early in the year to be claiming such things but it's going to take something truly special (seriously random) for my personal favorite final scene of the year to be anything but Moonfall's need to be seen effort.

Without dwelling on that for any longer or entering in spoiler territory overload, it's onto the important matter at hand of exploring Roland Emmerich's latest city/landmark destroying blockbuster.

To describe Moonfall as ludicrous, preposterous and utterly bonkers would be underselling just how out there Emmerich's big, dumb and even sometimes fun new film is, as while you may be expecting a typical astronauts and the government save the world from a hurtling towards the Earth Moon type of film, Moonfall goes to many an unexpected place that must surely make it a genuine contender for what will be one of 2022's most bizarre blockbusters.

A director who has well and truly given up being anything his not, Emmerich's latest effort is very much cut from the same cloth as his most renowned blockbusters such as Independence Day, Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow and 2012 and for anyone expecting any type of nuance to be present in Moonfall you're heading for a rude shock, as the films daft script, B-grade worthy performances and pointless/ridiculous plot points and characters litter almost every scene of the films two hour plus runtime.

Thankfully it appears as though Emmerich and his cast that includes the paycheck collecting duo of Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson as NASA employees Jocinda Fowl and Brian Harper, Game of Thrones John Bradley as wannabe doctor and mathematician wizz KC Houseman and a few why even bother appearances from Michael Pena and Donald Sutherland all were on the same page with Moonfall's insane premise, meaning that there is fun to be had from watching Catwoman, Ed Warren and Samwell Tarley head to the moon to save humankind, especially as the films unexpected late acts take hold.

If you as a viewer fail to get on the same wavelength as the film from the early stages its likely Emmerich's unrefined, loud and CGI infested event will quickly become a film that is hard too sit through, as there's little reason to recommend this film in such a content heavy time for films of all shapes and sizes but there's an argument to be made that these type of daft but knowingly so films have a time and place in our marketplace, despite there being no reason for it to exist outside of mindless entertainment.

Final Say -

One of Roland Emmerich's most out there carnage-filled blockbusters yet full of cringe and head scratching moments, Moonfall is even more crazy than one might've expected but provides the exact type of experience one would expect from a filmmaker that has long since passed the time where he tried to be anything that his not.

2 Fuzz Aldrin's out of 5

For more reviews check out Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys)

5 out of 5 stars.

Moonfall is a science fiction disaster film that is action packed, thrilling, and has so much packed into one film. Roland Emmerich film which he always does disaster films and having a story of catastrophic events and characters that are trying to survive the event. Cheesy as it is, this film is one of his best films. Sure, the script can be cheesy with John Bradley's character and his humor. The plot is great. The film does have a twist in direction right before the climax when the three characters Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, and John Bradley head to the moon and make a discovery that can change the course of history. Also, the film borrows similar concepts to other sci fi films like The Abyss and such.

The cast did great. Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, and John Bradley all did great. Michael Pena playing a small role was also okay. Charlie Plummer playing Brian Harper's son with a sub plot of him being a troubled teen. And is with Halle Berry's son and her exchange student trying to survive the cataclysmic event on Earth. With the moon coming close and gravity waves causing destruction. The film is action packed. The visual effects are awesome.

This is one entertaining blockbuster film that should not be taken seriously but enjoyed for what it is. And it does its job with pure entertainment.

If you watch a disaster movie made by Roland Emmerich you get what you expect: big explosions, fine work by the special departments and a rather simple story with forgettable characters. Moonfall is no exception - get your coke and pop-corn, lay back and enjoy the show. But in the case you don't like that kind of big screen disaster movies, don't bother.