Moon

2009

Moon

Critics Consensus

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

90%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 192

89%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 100,570
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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 daughter down on Earth, where he will retire early and attempt to make up for lost time. His work on the Selene moon base has been enlightening -- the solitude helping him to reflect on the past and overcome some serious anger issues -- but the isolation is starting to make Sam uneasy. With only two weeks to go before he begins his journey back to Earth, Sam starts feeling strange: he's having inexplicable visions, and hearing impossible sounds. Then, when a routine extraction goes horribly awry, it becomes apparent that Lunar hasn't been entirely straightforward with Sam about their plans for replacing him. The new recruit seems strangely familiar, and before Sam returns to Earth, he will grapple with the realization that the life he has created may not be entirely his own. Up there, hundreds of thousands of miles from home, it appears that Sam's contract isn't the only thing about to expire. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Cast

Sam Rockwell
as Sam Bell
Dominique McElligott
as Tess Bell
Matt Berry
as Overmeyers
Robin Chalk
as Sam
Benedict Wong
as Thompson
Kaya Scodelario
as Eve Bell
Kevin Spacey
as Gerty
Malcolm Stewart
as The Technician
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Critic Reviews for Moon

All Critics (192) | Top Critics (42) | Fresh (172) | Rotten (20)

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

    Jul 6, 2010 | Full Review…

    Bob Mondello

    NPR.org
    Top Critic

  • A well-assembled sci-fi thriller.

    Dec 16, 2009

    Duane Byrge

    Hollywood Reporter
    Top Critic

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

    Dec 16, 2009

    Dennis Harvey

    Variety
    Top Critic

  • 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.

    Oct 8, 2009 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

    Jake Wilson

    The Age (Australia)
    Top Critic

  • 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.

    Oct 8, 2009 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

    Paul Byrnes

    Sydney Morning Herald
    Top 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.

    Oct 8, 2009 | Full Review…

    Ruth Hessey

    MovieTime, ABC Radio National
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (192)

Audience Reviews for Moon

  • Oct 27, 2015
    It's interesting to watch a film with a "twist" focus on the journey, not the destination, an unusually nonchalant approach to what seems like should be a pretty major turn in the storytelling. But either way, Sam Rockwell is (unsurprisingly) gold.
    Gimly M Super Reviewer
  • Nov 02, 2014
    An interesting premise that leads nowhere, except to a bunch of cliches like the tremendously banal escape sequence in end with plenty of doses of sentimentality (see the first clone's death). The film tries to do too much with its initial premise: social criticism, thriller, mystery, even some horror in the beginning, but follows nothing to a satisfying end. Ultimately, it is a confused film and an inconsistent narrative (for example, what was the lady that the Sam sees in the beginning? Never explained.).
    George M Super Reviewer
  • Feb 10, 2014
    Simple, tense, and wonderful. Sam Rockwell is kind of the man. So is Kevin Spacey's voice.
    Jason R Super Reviewer
  • Mar 12, 2013
    Sam Rockwell delivers a tour-de-force performance in "Moon," which is second only to "Children of Men" as the best science-fiction film of the 21st century. It's a testament to Duncan Jones' inventiveness and strength as a director that he is able to work on such a low budget (for this kind of film) and still create a tense and professional-looking motion picture. As well, Nathaniel Parker's screenplay is as original as the sci-fi genre has yet to offer and Clint Mansell's minimalist score is subtle and haunting, but it's Rockwell's performance that holds the entire film together.
    Stephen E Super Reviewer
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