I know a lot of people who loved this movie. I know a lot of people who described the film in this way: it’s about a man who is sent on a three year mission to the moon with no company other than a talking computer (voiced by Kevin Spacey) and two weeks before he’s scheduled to go home, he finds another version of himself. Which one is the real Sam and be sent back to Earth? If you’ve heard of this film and heard it described in this way, start questioning the people who told you that. Because it’s just not the truth.
Here’s what true: we have Sam, the sweet, harmless hero who is nearing the end of his three year mission on the moon, and is uber excited to get back to his wife and young daughter on Earth. We have GERTY (which must stand for something really smart-sounding), the computer who cares for him. We have a crash while out on a mission. Sam wakes up and is told he is too weak to go outside, that a rescue mission is on its way, and Sam tricks GERTY into letting him go outside, where he discovers another version of himself. What we don’t have is them discussing which is the “real” Sam and who gets to go back to Earth. Because the secrets they discuss are MUCH bigger and more interesting than going home.
To say that this film didn’t fulfill my expectations of it would be an understatement, but that’s hardly the fault of the film. It’s the fault of the advertising. Because when you advertise a film in a certain way, people are going to expect the film to play out in that way. In this case, I expected to see a bloodbath, killing-to-survive fight to break out between the two Sams, and the one left standing was the one who got to go home. You know how many fights the Sams get into? Exactly one. And it’s over one Sam not wanting to stop working on his model town long enough to move it out of the way.
To say that I didn’t like the film would be a lie, though. It was well-made and the acting was phenomenal, especially coming from Sam Rockwell, who I mostly think of as the villain in The Green Mile. I think of him as an actor who doesn’t have too much variety in his talent. This was a different role for him, one that I was able to really sink my teeth into and take seriously. It was a pleasant change of pace to see him take the spotlight for once, and I enjoyed his performance quite thoroughly. And because this wasn’t at all what I was expecting to be, I was surprised by the twists and turns that the film made.
As with most movies, I didn’t feel quite satisfied by the ending. With a lot of films, I feel like there is always so much build-up that the ending is always a letdown, and Moon was no exception to this feeling. The way that the film was playing out led to so many different possibilities of where it could go in the end, and then to have everything work out so well (sorry, spoiler alert!) for Sam in the end, was kind of a disappointment. I know that Hollywood loves a big, fat, happy ending, but the struggle to find that end could have been more challenging.
In general, I think this is the type of film that space and futuristic nuts would enjoy, and it’s worth checking out.
Here’s what true: we have Sam, the sweet, harmless hero who is nearing the end of his three year mission on the moon, and is uber excited to get back to his wife and young daughter on Earth. We have GERTY (which must stand for something really smart-sounding), the computer who cares for him. We have a crash while out on a mission. Sam wakes up and is told he is too weak to go outside, that a rescue mission is on its way, and Sam tricks GERTY into letting him go outside, where he discovers another version of himself. What we don’t have is them discussing which is the “real” Sam and who gets to go back to Earth. Because the secrets they discuss are MUCH bigger and more interesting than going home.
To say that this film didn’t fulfill my expectations of it would be an understatement, but that’s hardly the fault of the film. It’s the fault of the advertising. Because when you advertise a film in a certain way, people are going to expect the film to play out in that way. In this case, I expected to see a bloodbath, killing-to-survive fight to break out between the two Sams, and the one left standing was the one who got to go home. You know how many fights the Sams get into? Exactly one. And it’s over one Sam not wanting to stop working on his model town long enough to move it out of the way.
To say that I didn’t like the film would be a lie, though. It was well-made and the acting was phenomenal, especially coming from Sam Rockwell, who I mostly think of as the villain in The Green Mile. I think of him as an actor who doesn’t have too much variety in his talent. This was a different role for him, one that I was able to really sink my teeth into and take seriously. It was a pleasant change of pace to see him take the spotlight for once, and I enjoyed his performance quite thoroughly. And because this wasn’t at all what I was expecting to be, I was surprised by the twists and turns that the film made.
As with most movies, I didn’t feel quite satisfied by the ending. With a lot of films, I feel like there is always so much build-up that the ending is always a letdown, and Moon was no exception to this feeling. The way that the film was playing out led to so many different possibilities of where it could go in the end, and then to have everything work out so well (sorry, spoiler alert!) for Sam in the end, was kind of a disappointment. I know that Hollywood loves a big, fat, happy ending, but the struggle to find that end could have been more challenging.
In general, I think this is the type of film that space and futuristic nuts would enjoy, and it’s worth checking out.
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