DeniReview: Moon
April 26th 2010 03:34
Category: Science Fiction
Rating: ***** out of 5 stars (5/5)
This movie is FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!
Duncan Jones, the son of David Bowie formerly known as Ziggy Stardust, did a remarkable job on his first full-length feature film. I am an instant fan and I look forward to seeing what's next from this remarkably talented director.
It's science fiction without the usual sci-fi fanfare - it's about the technology but on a different scale. If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and go out and rent it. But please be warned that this is an intelligent movie. So if you're not in the mood for thoughtful contemplation then please don't waste your time. There are no monsters, no car chases, no big breasted women, and no dragons here. There is, however, only ONE brilliant performance by actor Sam Rockwell, who does an incredible job in carrying this movie. Oh yeah, there's a robot.
In the movie, Sam Rockwell, plays Sam Bell, an employee contracted by Lunar Industries. His assignment requires him to live on the moon for three years and extract helium-3 from the soil. Helium-3 is an energy source of pollution free power and Earth is dependent on it for survival. When we meet him, he is two weeks away from the end of his contract and he is anxious to return home to his wife, who was pregnant with his child when he left.
It has been a grueling 3 years of loneliness and Sam breaks at the lack of human contact. He starts to hallucinate and dream about his wife. Let's face it, when you see pictures of the moon, it's desolate, remote, dark, and lacking in anything that can be remotely comforting. The view of earth, with its vibrant hues of colors can only be a constant reminder of his desire to return home but he soldiered on and sacrificed life and family for the sake of mankind. His only human interaction has been satellite communication to loved ones and also the home office. His only companion is GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey), a robotic assistant who helps run the station.
Sam is needed on this mission as a supervisor to oversee the operations of the extractions. One day, he takes a lunar rover to pick up canisters of extracted helium-3 from a harvesting machine when he sees something very strange that distracts him. Was it another hallucination? He crashes his rover into the harvester and loses consciousness. Sam wakes up at the infirmary, where GERTY tells him that he's recovering from injuries sustained in the accident and from there all is not as it seems.
That's about all I can say without giving away the rest of the movie. This was a very brave and daring film to make given the limitations of the storyline and the laziness of the majority of today's movie going audience - yeah, I said it! However to be fair, anyone could quite easily become bored and at first I found myself yawning a few times - that's a very bad sign for me. Too many yawns and my brain switches off but somehow, at some point, quite magically, I began to care, especially when the message gradually unfolded and we learn Sam's true identity and the devastating realization of his fate.
Sam Rockwell delivers an extra-ordinary performance and there is a moment when you just ache for him, especially when he discovers the unbelievable and utterly ruthless and deliberate betrayal committed against him. You see in one instant the feeling of injustice as he remembers all that he gave up and sacrificed and the complete sadness that his life was not what he thought. And then you cheer him on as he formulates a plan...
This is quality film-making and it's going on my Favorite Movie list. If you're ever in the mood for something stimulating and thought-provoking then this is the movie for you. If you do rent it, be sure and check out the DVD extras. You'll find the documentary on the making of this movie quite remarkable.
This movie is FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!
Duncan Jones, the son of David Bowie formerly known as Ziggy Stardust, did a remarkable job on his first full-length feature film. I am an instant fan and I look forward to seeing what's next from this remarkably talented director.
It's science fiction without the usual sci-fi fanfare - it's about the technology but on a different scale. If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and go out and rent it. But please be warned that this is an intelligent movie. So if you're not in the mood for thoughtful contemplation then please don't waste your time. There are no monsters, no car chases, no big breasted women, and no dragons here. There is, however, only ONE brilliant performance by actor Sam Rockwell, who does an incredible job in carrying this movie. Oh yeah, there's a robot.
In the movie, Sam Rockwell, plays Sam Bell, an employee contracted by Lunar Industries. His assignment requires him to live on the moon for three years and extract helium-3 from the soil. Helium-3 is an energy source of pollution free power and Earth is dependent on it for survival. When we meet him, he is two weeks away from the end of his contract and he is anxious to return home to his wife, who was pregnant with his child when he left.
It has been a grueling 3 years of loneliness and Sam breaks at the lack of human contact. He starts to hallucinate and dream about his wife. Let's face it, when you see pictures of the moon, it's desolate, remote, dark, and lacking in anything that can be remotely comforting. The view of earth, with its vibrant hues of colors can only be a constant reminder of his desire to return home but he soldiered on and sacrificed life and family for the sake of mankind. His only human interaction has been satellite communication to loved ones and also the home office. His only companion is GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey), a robotic assistant who helps run the station.
Sam is needed on this mission as a supervisor to oversee the operations of the extractions. One day, he takes a lunar rover to pick up canisters of extracted helium-3 from a harvesting machine when he sees something very strange that distracts him. Was it another hallucination? He crashes his rover into the harvester and loses consciousness. Sam wakes up at the infirmary, where GERTY tells him that he's recovering from injuries sustained in the accident and from there all is not as it seems.
That's about all I can say without giving away the rest of the movie. This was a very brave and daring film to make given the limitations of the storyline and the laziness of the majority of today's movie going audience - yeah, I said it! However to be fair, anyone could quite easily become bored and at first I found myself yawning a few times - that's a very bad sign for me. Too many yawns and my brain switches off but somehow, at some point, quite magically, I began to care, especially when the message gradually unfolded and we learn Sam's true identity and the devastating realization of his fate.
Sam Rockwell delivers an extra-ordinary performance and there is a moment when you just ache for him, especially when he discovers the unbelievable and utterly ruthless and deliberate betrayal committed against him. You see in one instant the feeling of injustice as he remembers all that he gave up and sacrificed and the complete sadness that his life was not what he thought. And then you cheer him on as he formulates a plan...
This is quality film-making and it's going on my Favorite Movie list. If you're ever in the mood for something stimulating and thought-provoking then this is the movie for you. If you do rent it, be sure and check out the DVD extras. You'll find the documentary on the making of this movie quite remarkable.
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