“moon” film review

I personally feel this is a hidden gem of a film. I only know of a few people who have seen this film, and those that have seen it, really love it. The blame game as to who’s at fault for it’s awesomeness I think is shared between writer/director Duncan Jones and underrated actor Sam Rockwell. I may have said this before, but I’m saying it again: doesn’t Sam Rockwell have a great name? But seriously, his acting is great. I liked him since Charlie’s Angels. Seriously. And as for Mr. Jones, that is, son of legendary David Bowie, the film he made after Moon was Source Code. He’s now on my list of directors to keep an eye on.

I’m not sure what I should or shouldn’t say about the awesome movie without spoiling the story. The initial story is that Sam Rockwell’s character, named Sam Bell, is living on the moon all alone, maintaining the moon base station that’s run by a corporation on Earth. Although he’s not completely alone, he has the company of GERTY! GERTY is voiced by equally amazing Kevin Spacey. Besides that, GERTY really does have a personality that is likable. What helps to notice this, is the happy/sad faces he makes in it’s little screen.

The other thing I really enjoy about this film is not knowing how this story would be resolved. Perhaps one spoiler I’ll reveal is that Sam Bell isn’t as alone as he thinks. And spending time with yourself is really quite an experience. But once you learn the secret about Sam Bell, it gets unpredictable. Or at least it did for me. And it had been a while for me to see a movie like that, which was refreshing. It felt original and I think everyone can agree that that’s a rare commodity in Hollywood. So thank Duncan Jones & Co for the genius behind the story and how it was put together.

I watched almost all the DVD features. That’s a pretty good sign I liked the movie when I want to find out more info about it. The good news I learned from outside sources? Moon is possibly part of a trilogy. Does that mean I should wait to see if Duncan can get started on the second installment before I buy the first? Or should I wait to buy the combo pack? Nah, I’ll just go ahead and buy it now.

Overall, Moon is a must see if you’re into some great sci-fi story telling. It’s rated R for language for the most part. There is some edge of your suspense that I thought would resolve in some graphic violence, but there really wasn’t any to be alarmed about. So look for this movie and if you can check out the features, give those a whirl if you never do. Some of that behind the scenes stuff is pretty amazing. (But this is coming from a guy who had been working on a movie set for the past month.)