The moon has captivated the human imagination since the dawn of time. However there have been surprisingly few Hollywood films set there in the last few decades. This has to do with the fact that the moon simply lost its mystique once Neil Armstrong actually walked on it. That’s not to say that there isn’t still some creative mileage to be had from the moon, as the recent release of “Apollo 18″ demonstrates. So moving past the goofy sci-fi romps from the early days with names like “The Cat Women of the Moon,” it’s time to take a look at the best and worst films set on the moon made after we actually landed there.
One recent film that proved there’s plenty left to do with a lunar setting is 2009’s “Moon.” This first feature from director Duncan Jones tells the story of Sam Bell, played by Sam Rockwell. He is the sole occupant of an automated mining facility on the moon’s surface, aided only by computer assistant GERTY, voiced by Kevin Spacey. On a routine check of some of the equipment Sam discovers something that will change his life forever. Without giving anything away the film dispenses with the usual suspense trappings and instead chooses to be a more heady experience in the vein of “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Rockwell gives an excellent performance and the intelligence of the script paired with Jones’ direction makes for one of the best realistic sci-fi films in recent years.
Probably the best film made about the moon is actually about failing to get there. 1995’s “Apollo 13″ recounts the true story of a mission to the moon that went horribly wrong and the desperate work of both the astronauts and the NASA team on the ground to ensure the crew’s safe return. A phenomenal cast, lead by Tom Hanks, under the direction of Ron Howard brings every tense second of this story to life. Using high flying aircraft to create a weightless environment for the actors was one of many authentic touches that help the film feel almost like a documentary while never losing its story telling edge.
Not all of the recent films set on the moon have been of the same quality as “Moon” and “Apollo 13.” This summer saw the release of “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.” The third entry in the Transformers film franchise took the interesting premise that the space race of the 1960s was all about investigating a crashed alien ship on the moon. Sadly this promising idea was ultimately just director Michael Bay’s latest excuse to blow everything up with little rhyme or reason. While generally considered to be an improvement over the previous film in the series, it still borders on nonsensical and the impressive special effects can’t do anything to save the lame story or characters.
In the category of completely embarrassing moon based films is the 1979 James Bond film “Moonraker.” This was Roger Moore’s fourth outing as the famed agent 007, and it stands as the single goofiest film in the entire series. Bond films have always been somewhat tongue in cheek, but this entry saw the character degrade to comedy gags over anything approaching decent action. The special effects surrounding Bond’s trip to the moon were impressive for the time, but all of that is offset by how silly the whole thing is. Many Bond films have goofy premises but this actively plays for laughs, practically becoming a parody of what the series is at its best. The film stands as a humiliation that most fans try to forget.