With Moonfall, disastermind Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012) follows his usual formula—the world literally, spectacularly falls apart around way too many ensemble characters we care very little about—but this time there is a specific villain: the moon itself, which for complicated reasons is on a crash course with Earth. This allows for the movie’s one truly ridiculously entertaining element: the visual framing of the moon as something between a celestial stalker and the voracious shark from Jaws. It starts with the cheeky opening image, a standard shot of the Earth from space, peaceful and beatific—until the moon slowly peeks around the curve of the planet, like a child about to yell, “Boo!” Not long later, it can be seen peering through the window of a space shuttle, as if planning its attack. Once the assault is underway, it looms over Los Angeles with more menace than the title monster in Emmerich’s 1998 take on Godzilla. My favorite moon moment comes after it has unleashed gravitational fury while passing over Colorado, then slowly slinks away over the horizon, like Jaws slipping back beneath the waves. Other than these visual delights, Moonfall isn’t much fun. There is a surprising swerve into 2001/Interstellar territory in the third act that perks things up, but otherwise way too many of the 130 minutes are devoted to the thinly drawn familial dynamics of characters played by Patrick Wilson, Halle Berry, John Bradley, Michael Pena, and Charlie Plummer. The moon has more personality than any of them.
(2/7/2022)
