Moon (2009)

Genres

Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

Director

Duncan Jones

Country

UK

Cast

Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott, Kaya Scodelario, Benedict Wong, Matt Berry, Malcolm Stewart, Robin Chalk

Storyline

Near the end of his three-year contract with Lunar Industries to harvest helium-3, the fuel now used on Earth, astronaut Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) finds himself a bit nervous and anxious as he finds out that he is not alone like he was supposed to be.

Opinion

I've seen Moon pop up quite a lot in the Thursday Movie Picks posts, so after months and months I finally watched it, and thank god it lived up to the hype. A fantastic and mind-blowing sci-fi drama is what I was expecting and that's exactly what I got.

The sci-fi story Duncan Jones wrote is intriguing, tense and thought-provoking and explores how we feel about a possible future dominated by evil corporations without being preachy nor treating the corporation as the villain. He also uses the lunar setting to explore and dig deep into human identity, with subjects such as alienation, loneliness and isolation. So, yeah, this isn't your typical sci-fi flick.

In addition to a compelling story, Moon also has a great main (and only) character as well. A character that feels incredibly real and relatable thanks to a brilliant performance from Sam Rockwell who is completely convincing as the confused astronaut. And the way he transitions from angry and insane to desperate and powerless, simply amazing.

In spite of barely having any special effect and the complete lack of action/spectacular battle scenes, Moon still qualifies as a brilliant, involving sci-fi movie that will stick with you for a while and will make for a great cinematic experience.