Moon - 2009

Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is a man working for the Lunar Industries on a trip by himself to the moon. He has a three year contract to live there alongside the most helpful computer GERTY (Kevin Spacey). Unfortunately for Sam, there is no direct communication from where he is and Earth, making Sam all too lonely over the years doing nothing but talking to himself and his intelligent computer that attends to his needs everyday. Sam desperately wants to go home to Earth where his wife and child are waiting for him, and as the contract draws to a close he begins to hallucinate. And with only two weeks to go Sam has an accident while working outside the lunar station that knocks him out. When he wakes up GERTY is by him, and explains what has happened, but after this strange and unusual things begin to happen in the station.


What a nice little surprise Moon turned out to be. With a fairly young man like Duncan Jones making his directorial debut here, I can honestly say I had no expectations at all for this film. But it turned out to be one of my favorite science fiction films that I have ever seen. Duncan Jones has made a film debut that is one of the more impressive ones I have ever seen, and according to the critical mass "Source Code" his second film is quite wonderful as well, which I will be seeing soon. Moon reminded me a bit of the science fiction great "2001: A Space Odyssey", and I know being as brilliant as it was, that could worry some people. But even though Moon might not be the equal, it still brings creativity and a generally satisfying science fiction film to the table.


Sam Rockwell gives a absolutley fantastic performance here. For any fans of his, or movie fans at all, don't miss his performance. Even if you do not like the film it is worth watching just for him. Being the only character that actually has any real lines, other than GERTY, the stage is completely set for Rockwell to make it a show, and he does. He packs plenty of emotion, passion, and just an intensity to his performance that is really quite amazing at times. It is so entertaining to watch the battle, and friendship, between him and the other Sam Bell, also played by him of course. It is a very hard thing for an actor to keep a film interesting by himself throughout the entire film. Ryan Reynolds struggled with it in his recent film, Buried. But Sam Rockwell did it beautifully. I cannot give enough to Rockwell for his performance here, and I am looking forward to seeing more of his works. Plus, Kevin Spacey makes a pretty interesting computer, that reminded me a bit of HAL 9000 sometimes.


Moon in general was just shot very well. Some of the space scenes were so beautiful, that it just lifted the film up higher. The cinematography is so great, and it is a real shame this film did not turn up in more theaters, like on that is near me. The writing was incredible, the script was good, and the screenplay all around was good. Duncan Jones' direction was as close to perfection as you can get, especially for his first time. He and Nathan Parker really knew what they had going here, Moon could have easily been another boring science fiction film, but with brilliant writing and direction they make it worth a second watch, maybe even a buy.


Overall, Moon will find its place on any of my best science fiction lists. The only problem I had with it was the length. It really did hurt the film, and I just wish it had been longer. Moon keeps the audience interested with plenty of mystery, and has an ending that is sure to please the masses. Jones and parker's writing is as good as it gets, and Rockwell's performance hits the mark perfectly. In his debut, Duncan Jones has crafted a near masterpiece, and a great science fiction film.

Rating: 9/10