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Moon (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:156
Fresh:139
Rotten:17
Average Rating:7.4/10
Consensus: Boosted by Sam Rockwell's intense performance, Moon is a compelling work of science-fiction, and a promising debut from director Duncan Jones.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language.
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:Jun 12, 2009 Limited
Box Office: $4,785,434
Synopsis:
It is the near future. Astronaut Sam Bell is living on the far side of the moon, completing a three-year contract with Lunar Industries to mine Earth’s primary source of energy, Helium-3. It is a...
It is the near future. Astronaut Sam Bell is living on the far side of the moon, completing a three-year contract with Lunar Industries to mine Earth’s primary source of energy, Helium-3. It is a lonely job, made harder by a broken satellite that allows no live communications home. Taped messages are all Sam can send and receive.
Thankfully, his time on the moon is nearly over, and Sam will be reunited with his wife, Tess, and their three-year-old daughter, Eve, in only a few short weeks. Finally, he will leave the isolation of “Sarang,” the moon base that has been his home for so long, and he will finally have someone to talk to beyond “Gerty,” the base’s well-intentioned, but rather uncomplicated computer.
Suddenly, Sam’s health starts to deteriorate. Painful headaches, hallucinations and a lack of focus lead to an almost fatal accident on a routine drive on the moon in a lunar rover. While recuperating back at the base (with no memory of how he got there), Sam meets a younger, angrier version of himself, who claims to be there to fulfill the same three year contract Sam started all those years ago.
Confined with what appears to be a clone of his earlier self, and with a “support crew” on its way to help put the base back into productive order, Sam is fighting the clock to discover what’s going on and where he fits into company plans. --© Sony Pictures Classics
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey
Director: Duncan Jones
Director: Duncan Jones
Screenwriter: Mark Bowden, Nathaniel Parker
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
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Reviews for Moon
Moon is a timely reminder of what readers of analog already know: that science fiction can be (gasp!) intelligent and thoughtful . . .
A moody, brooding low-key sci-fi feature that makes the most of the eeriness and solitude of long-distance separation to explore some very poignant themes of memory and existence.
At the heart of this you've got this fantastic concept and a fantastic performance from Rockwell. It's absolutely tense. It's absolutely admirable.
By halfway the film starts to feel like a mere exercise, one more effort to get maximum value from limited resources. Too much machinery, not enough dread.
There might even be a touch of his father in there -- ''your circuit's dead, there's something wrong, can you hear me, Major Tom?'' It is a well-built, concentrated movie with a brain and a purpose.
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.
Clearly inspired by the great science fiction films of the last century, Moon still manages to be awe-inspiring and strikingly original in its own right.
While there are echoes of Kubrick's 2001 classic, Moon has enough that's original and surprising to make it worth recommending, and not only to diehard fans of sci-fi films.
Much more than simple escapism, Moon may not be for everyone, but it is certainly a very good film that will inspire intriguing post-cinema conversation.
The filmmakers say they wanted to make a sci-fi story within their limited budget, so used ingredients that would satisfy both. Sadly, the screenplay is a bit low on other things as well, like meaningful content.
An interesting idea goes astray in this unusual sci-fi thriller in which Sam Rockwell's astronaut Sam becomes captive in the recesses of his own mind.
In an era when grey-shaded Hollywood drudge can cost hundreds of millions and deliver nothing, Moon stands out -- and it does so with dignity.
Making a smart genre film is a house of cards. Of Moon's praiseworthy elements, I am most impressed with this: for a movie so rich and complex, it is wonderfully simple.
There's a marvelous sense of isolation in the picture's cold, aloof setting and classical, still frames.
Moon is a gripping sci-fi tale, but also has a lot of heart and humanity.
Latest News for Moon
October 08, 2009:
Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
Space. Once film's final frontier, over the years sci-fi has sometimes been the domain of cliche and inferior riffs on past glories. All the more surprising, then, to discover a... More...
September 15, 2009:
Concept Art for Moon Director Duncan Jones' Mute ![]()
Director Duncan Jones, whose Moon has gone down as one of the finest sci-fi films of the year, has posted concept art for his next film, a thriller entitled Mute. Like Blade... More...
July 20, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with Duncan Jones
Duncan Jones has done the impossible -- tell a smart, engaging and entertaining sci-fi story on a modest budget. In Britain. As his debut feature film. No wonder everyone's... More...
June 28, 2009:
Edinburgh 2009: RT's 10 Must-See Movies
The Edinburgh Film Festival has come to a close and Rotten Tomatoes thought we'd make a traditional look back over all of the films playing at this year's fest and present to... More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 75% 75% | The Road | 11/25 |
| | Ninja Assassin | 11/25 |
| | Princess and the Frog | 11/25 |
| | Old Dogs | 11/25 |
| 67% 67% | Me and Orson Welles | 11/25 |
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