Rotten Tomatoes Logo Do you want to see ‘Moon’?

Moon (2009)

tomatometer

89

Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 178
Fresh: 159 | Rotten: 19

Boosted by Sam Rockwell's intense performance, Moon is a compelling work of science-fiction, and a promising debut from director Duncan Jones.

73

Average Rating: 6.5/10
Critic Reviews: 30
Fresh: 22 | Rotten: 8

Boosted by Sam Rockwell's intense performance, Moon is a compelling work of science-fiction, and a promising debut from director Duncan Jones.

audience

85

liked it
Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 84,188

My Rating

Movie Info

An astronaut miner extracting the precious moon gas that promises to reverse the Earth's energy crisis nears the end of his three-year contract, and makes an ominous discovery in this psychological sci-fi film starring Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey. For three long years, Sam Bell has dutifully harvested Helium 3 for Lunar, a company that claims it holds the key to solving humankind's energy crisis. As Sam's contract comes to an end, the lonely astronaut looks forward to returning to his wife and

Jan 12, 2010

$4.8M

Sony Pictures Classics

Cast

All Critics (178) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (161) | Rotten (19) | DVD (12)

Start calculating the costs to Lunar Industries of its singular form of devaluing, and Moon's central premise stops making sense.

July 6, 2010 Full Review Source: NPR.org | Comments (2)
NPR.org
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A well-assembled sci-fi thriller.

December 16, 2009 Comment
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Moon actually gets a little dull in the later reels, just when it should be peaking in mystery and tension.

December 16, 2009 Full Review Source: Variety | Comments (18)
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

An eccentric sci-fi which cleverly deconstructs the mythology of the Star Treks and Star Wars which have colonised the future of our imaginations with their glamour, self-importance and operatic sound tracks.

October 8, 2009 Full Review Source: MovieTime, ABC Radio National | Comments (3)
MovieTime, ABC Radio National
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This eerie drama harks back to sci-fi movies of the late 60s and early 70s that explored inner as well as outer space.

July 10, 2009 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Storywise, Moon fails to live up to the promise of its premise. There's plenty of atmosphere, but little gravity.

July 10, 2009 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Sam Rockwell should have been nominated for Best Actor at least twice.

March 28, 2011 Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | Comment
LarsenOnFilm

Someday, Rockwell will get his Oscar due, I have no doubt. But I bet that when that day comes, lots of movie lovers will look back and say, 'But it should have happened for Moon.'

July 20, 2010 Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | Comments (7)
Flick Filosopher

A throwback to the golden era of 1970s sci-fi, Moon is a long overdue and morally relevant antidote to the overblown bombast of todays science fiction.

July 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews | Comment (1)
Matt's Movie Reviews

Moon is an old-fashioned sci-fi movie in the best sense: far more psychological drama than space opera, dispensing with overweening CGI and loud flashy action sequences while harking back to subtler, more ideas-driven entries in the genre.

July 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | Comment
Sight and Sound

Evocative, riveting, and ultimately contemporary in a roundabout way, Moon is a superb mood piece, sublimely cradled by Jones, filtered through tireless work from star Sam Rockwell.

June 2, 2010 Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | Comment
BrianOrndorf.com

Despite the modest resources, 'Moon' is so visually astonishing that it almost looks like it was shot on location on Earth's oldest satellite.

March 5, 2010 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comment
eFilmCritic.com

Out of this world. A story that could easily have been from the early days of science fiction. It's a film that has a make-or-break lead role, and Sam Rockwell makes it an incredible journey. Paul Chambers, CNN.

February 6, 2010 Full Review Source: CNNRadio | Comment
CNNRadio

Jones je uspio stvoriti ne samo uvjerljivi nego i upe%u010Datljivi futuristi%u010Dki mikrokozmos, i to bez CGI-ja, s bud%u017Eetom od "svega" 5 milijuna dolara

February 6, 2010 Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | Comment
rec.arts.movies.reviews

A lusciously slow trip, recalling familiar old tones while also adding its own unique touches.

January 21, 2010 Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | Comment
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

a puzzle with a solution that is elegant yet savage

January 17, 2010 Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | Comment
Killer Movie Reviews

Sure, he's the son of David Bowie, but it's far more illuminating to learn that he got a degree in philosophy before turning to film...

January 13, 2010 Full Review Source: Seanax.com | Comment
Seanax.com

Contemplates a future full of potential and yet robbed of hope, an era where the worst malfunction technology can suffer is to simply function too well for its own good.

December 17, 2009 Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | Comment
Orlando Weekly

Moon entertains by posing a puzzle whose solution opens into disturbing existential truths and paradoxes.

December 16, 2009 Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | Comment
Boston Phoenix

A frequently engrossing science fiction story given a particular tension and seriousness by its moral inquiry into what it means to be fully human and alive.

December 16, 2009 Full Review Source: Screen International | Comment
Screen International

Sam Rockwell's work is a light on the dark side of "Moon." It's not that the man behind the curtain isn't worth attention, it's that he's just not as interesting. It's predictably plotted, but unpredictably mournful and elegiac a la Philip K. Dick.

December 3, 2009 Full Review Source: Suite101.com | Comment
Suite101.com
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Moon

An amazingly good hard sci fi movie. Not fantasy sci fi . . just goo sci fi . . an excellent film with Sam Rockwell putting on a great performance. If you want good psychological sci fi movie this is it.

January 24, 2010
jmanard52

Super Reviewer

This is a sci fi film that's threatening. A lot like your typical alien flick but better, doing a lot of things differently for the better as well. Sam Rockwell's performance is very emotional and intense. It's very claustrophobic and limited and its hard to make good films like that.

November 27, 2011
Michael M.
Michael Miller

Super Reviewer

    1. Sam Bell: We're not programs Gerty, we're people.
    – Submitted by carter p (3 days ago)
    1. Sam Bell: Who's the guy in the rec room?
    2. Gerty: Sam Bell...You are Sam Bell.
    – Submitted by Spencer L (28 days ago)
    1. Gerty: They are memory implants, Sam.
    – Submitted by Teja A (4 months ago)
    1. Sam Bell: "Jesus Christ there are so many of 'em. Why are their so many of 'em"
    – Submitted by Greg S (9 months ago)
    1. Gerty: I hope life on Earth is everything you remember it to be.
    – Submitted by Chris P (9 months ago)

Latest News for Moon

December 20, 2010:
Duncan Jones Escapes from Escape from the Deep
Duncan Jones isn't 100 percent certain what his next project will be, but it won't be "Escape from...

December 7, 2009:
Awards Tour: Fish Tank, Moon Win British Independent Film Awards
Duncan Jones took home the Best Debut Director award and his film was named Best British Independent...

What's Hot On RT

Weekly Ketchup
Weekly Ketchup

Adam Sandler's Candy Land

Critics Consensus
Critics Consensus

Woman in Black is Solid

The Avengers!
The Avengers!

Five new Marvelous pictures

Total Recall
Total Recall

Unconventional Superheroes

Top Movie Quizzes

LEGO Mania: 2011 Best Picture Nominees
by natalie - 18,344 taken
created 12 months ago
How Much Do You Know About Leonardo DiCaprio?
by natalie - 43,894 taken
created 15 months ago
Pixar Movies!
by jdikwlzviv - 26,849 taken
created 15 months ago
The Wizards of Harry Potter
by jdikwlzviv - 27,332 taken
created 15 months ago
Help | About | Jobs | Newsletter | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Blog | Developers | Mobile