6/10 - with the visuals of a true space blockbuster, this B movie features nonsensical dialogue, many many characters that serve absolutely no purpose, and an absolutely insane third act...but nonetheless, it's fun.
1,758 Reviews
Dumber than a box of rocks but unusually entertaining sci-fi
ObsessiveCinemaDisorder27 January 2023
Moonfall is, without a doubt, one of the stupidest movies ever made. Yet, it so gloriously 100% commits to its whirlwind of logic-defying hokey conspiracy theory-inspired nonsense that it sucks the audience into its vortex for a vastly entertaining ride.
Two NASA astronauts Brian Harper and Jocinda "Jo" Fowler working together with conspiracy theorist K. C. Houseman discover a secret about the Moon after it leaves its orbit and veers toward Earth.
I have never subscribed to the idea of turning off your brain to enjoy a movie. However, Moonfall, through its brand of pratfall sorcery, effectively shut off my brain. This was The Riddler's brain-drain machine from Batman Forever, dazzling me with spectacle while sucking up my IQ. I waved goodbye to logic, science, and generally "how things work."
Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, John Bradley, Michael Pena, and the cast all do their best selling all the ridiculousness and delivering ultra-stilted dialogue. It's amusing watching them be so serious and hold it together. At any given moment, I imagine a slight smirk from any of the actors would have them all breaking and laughing.
Moonfall was an unusually great time. I was riveted by the mystery behind the Moon and on the edge of my seat by the disaster sequences that ignore physics. The logic of how things progress from A to B is so warped that it inadvertently makes the story unpredictable. I was kind of amazed by where the story ended up. At the back of my mind the whole time, I was completely stupefied by how the movie was barely hanging together through its extravagant ambition.
The film played like a parody of Roland Emmerich disaster movies itself and got away with it. This will vary for different people as it heavily depends if you can enjoy a bad movie. I enjoyed it unironically, which is odd and an achievement of sorts. I would love to see a sequel.
Two NASA astronauts Brian Harper and Jocinda "Jo" Fowler working together with conspiracy theorist K. C. Houseman discover a secret about the Moon after it leaves its orbit and veers toward Earth.
I have never subscribed to the idea of turning off your brain to enjoy a movie. However, Moonfall, through its brand of pratfall sorcery, effectively shut off my brain. This was The Riddler's brain-drain machine from Batman Forever, dazzling me with spectacle while sucking up my IQ. I waved goodbye to logic, science, and generally "how things work."
Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, John Bradley, Michael Pena, and the cast all do their best selling all the ridiculousness and delivering ultra-stilted dialogue. It's amusing watching them be so serious and hold it together. At any given moment, I imagine a slight smirk from any of the actors would have them all breaking and laughing.
Moonfall was an unusually great time. I was riveted by the mystery behind the Moon and on the edge of my seat by the disaster sequences that ignore physics. The logic of how things progress from A to B is so warped that it inadvertently makes the story unpredictable. I was kind of amazed by where the story ended up. At the back of my mind the whole time, I was completely stupefied by how the movie was barely hanging together through its extravagant ambition.
The film played like a parody of Roland Emmerich disaster movies itself and got away with it. This will vary for different people as it heavily depends if you can enjoy a bad movie. I enjoyed it unironically, which is odd and an achievement of sorts. I would love to see a sequel.
I guess I like these kinds of movies, even though they're silly.
jack_o_hasanov_imdb3 April 2022
I don't think it's a bad movie. The effects were great. The movie üas just too long, longer than necessary. The subject of the movie is, of course, very, very, very ridiculous, but so are many movies too. I enjoyed watching the movie with my snacks and beer. I guess I like these kinds of movies, even though they're silly.
If you take parts of 20 other movies and mash them together
FeastMode4 February 2022
I'm a sci-fi junkie and I can enjoy a stupid, mindless action flick. I still find Armageddon highly entertaining to this day. I'm the kind of person who loves these kinds of movies. Except when they're complete trash like this one.
This movie is terrible and has almost no redeeming qualities. The only thing I mildly enjoyed was some cool-looking scenes of destruction. Even the space stuff, which is normally an automatic plus for me, added nothing. Maybe it's missing the feel of space that good directors like Christopher Nolan are able to capture. Or maybe it's because I didn't care about the story or the characters even a tiny bit.
Speaking of characters... what characters? They're all cardboard cutouts. You have zero investment in any of them. They spew lines of atrocious dialogue that sound like they were written by a computer program.
While watching this, I kept noticing different things copied from various movies. This is fine if the movie is well-made, or if the copying is just for a portion of the movie. But this movie is poorly-made, and the copying seems to make up the entire thing.
And while each of the movies it stole from likely delved deep into that concept, this movie just throws it in there as an afterthought. There are so many useless side plots. These are things that could have worked if they narrowed it down and focused on a couple.
This movie is really dumb. I kept trying to forgive the flaws and give it a chance, but less than halfway through I started laughing at the stupidity. I had to make sure I didn't laugh too loud in case someone was enjoying it somehow.
Seriously, I can't emphasize how dumb this movie is. Throughout. And I don't just mean the science and lack of believability, I can get past that. But very simple things like, for example, when a character tells another, "You're the only one who believed me." And I think to myself, "Wait... WHAT??? He didn't believe you and had security escort you off the premises." The movie is jam-packed with this type of nonsense.
In the end, if you can't, at the very least, deliver entertaining mayhem, then you have failed. (1 viewing, opening night 2/3/2022)
This movie is terrible and has almost no redeeming qualities. The only thing I mildly enjoyed was some cool-looking scenes of destruction. Even the space stuff, which is normally an automatic plus for me, added nothing. Maybe it's missing the feel of space that good directors like Christopher Nolan are able to capture. Or maybe it's because I didn't care about the story or the characters even a tiny bit.
Speaking of characters... what characters? They're all cardboard cutouts. You have zero investment in any of them. They spew lines of atrocious dialogue that sound like they were written by a computer program.
While watching this, I kept noticing different things copied from various movies. This is fine if the movie is well-made, or if the copying is just for a portion of the movie. But this movie is poorly-made, and the copying seems to make up the entire thing.
And while each of the movies it stole from likely delved deep into that concept, this movie just throws it in there as an afterthought. There are so many useless side plots. These are things that could have worked if they narrowed it down and focused on a couple.
This movie is really dumb. I kept trying to forgive the flaws and give it a chance, but less than halfway through I started laughing at the stupidity. I had to make sure I didn't laugh too loud in case someone was enjoying it somehow.
Seriously, I can't emphasize how dumb this movie is. Throughout. And I don't just mean the science and lack of believability, I can get past that. But very simple things like, for example, when a character tells another, "You're the only one who believed me." And I think to myself, "Wait... WHAT??? He didn't believe you and had security escort you off the premises." The movie is jam-packed with this type of nonsense.
In the end, if you can't, at the very least, deliver entertaining mayhem, then you have failed. (1 viewing, opening night 2/3/2022)
No brainer sci-fi popcorn shizzle.
arnonatte3 February 2022
So if you want to enjoy this movie ,disable your brain for a few hours,and let it all happen.
If you do that,you might have a good 2 hours,like I did.
Yes it's popcorn Sci-fi ,and sometimes it's good to watch movies like this. Special fx are awesome and it is spectacular. No ,it will never get Oscar for acting or original script or whatever. That's a deep - in this movie.
But,..hey! I had fun. My score 6.7.
If you do that,you might have a good 2 hours,like I did.
Yes it's popcorn Sci-fi ,and sometimes it's good to watch movies like this. Special fx are awesome and it is spectacular. No ,it will never get Oscar for acting or original script or whatever. That's a deep - in this movie.
But,..hey! I had fun. My score 6.7.
Hilariously bad, and kinda fun because of it
benjaminskylerhill4 February 2022
It's been quite some time since I've seen a cast full of talented, well-regarded actors all give performances that are this terrible. To be fair, given this dialogue, I don't think any actor could have pulled off a good performance.
This screenplay was written by guys who have never talked to another human being before. Every line of dialogue is contrived and laughably on the nose, with exposition delivered in a way that sometimes makes Marvel's Eternals feel like a masterclass of writing.
The story has enough logical holes to fit the moon through. Convenience piles on top of convenience to make catastrophe possible, and then to help the characters survive the catastrophe. It's a script that can't withstand even the slightest amount of logical thought.
Moonfall makes just as little sense as 2012, and the characters are just as dull. But, in a way, this film is the more disappointing one because of how much better it could have been.
The character introductions and the setup for the emotional conflicts that these characters are experiencing with each other are actually compelling and somewhat competent. But the writers do NOTHING with these conflicts once they're established. Nobody learns anything; nobody actually overcomes anything or changes at all.
Not that a movie like this really needs masterful character development, but it at least needs something, ANYTHING to make us care and want these characters to succeed. But there's nothing.
Not even the visual effects are particularly good; they're certainly not bad, but no improvements have been made since the 2009 release of 2012, which looked groundbreaking at the time.
Still, I didn't hate watching this. I found myself mesmerised at how the filmmakers were literally dropping the ball every step of the way. If that sort of thing gives you enjoyment, then see this on the biggest screen that you can!
This screenplay was written by guys who have never talked to another human being before. Every line of dialogue is contrived and laughably on the nose, with exposition delivered in a way that sometimes makes Marvel's Eternals feel like a masterclass of writing.
The story has enough logical holes to fit the moon through. Convenience piles on top of convenience to make catastrophe possible, and then to help the characters survive the catastrophe. It's a script that can't withstand even the slightest amount of logical thought.
Moonfall makes just as little sense as 2012, and the characters are just as dull. But, in a way, this film is the more disappointing one because of how much better it could have been.
The character introductions and the setup for the emotional conflicts that these characters are experiencing with each other are actually compelling and somewhat competent. But the writers do NOTHING with these conflicts once they're established. Nobody learns anything; nobody actually overcomes anything or changes at all.
Not that a movie like this really needs masterful character development, but it at least needs something, ANYTHING to make us care and want these characters to succeed. But there's nothing.
Not even the visual effects are particularly good; they're certainly not bad, but no improvements have been made since the 2009 release of 2012, which looked groundbreaking at the time.
Still, I didn't hate watching this. I found myself mesmerised at how the filmmakers were literally dropping the ball every step of the way. If that sort of thing gives you enjoyment, then see this on the biggest screen that you can!
A Kaspersky and Lexus Ad with the scientific depth of sharknado
morcego30 March 2022
Do you know those movies that are so bad, they are good? This isn't one of them. This is just bad.
But nothing beats. The Kaspersky logo on an Endeavour shuttle screen saying it is protecting the system.
I'll give you a moment for that to sink in: an US space shuttle and flew from 1992 to 2011 has an internal system that not only runs Windows, but for some reason runs not only an antivirus, but one made by a Russian company.
At least Catwoman is no longer the worse movie Halle Barry was in.
But nothing beats. The Kaspersky logo on an Endeavour shuttle screen saying it is protecting the system.
I'll give you a moment for that to sink in: an US space shuttle and flew from 1992 to 2011 has an internal system that not only runs Windows, but for some reason runs not only an antivirus, but one made by a Russian company.
At least Catwoman is no longer the worse movie Halle Barry was in.
Fun, and not terribly serious
drael641 April 2022
This is a fun action ride, with good pacing, decent enough acting and a not particularly serious tone. The plot points range through a whole bunch of fun conspiracy theories and other ideas. This is not hard science fiction obviously, but if you can suspend disbelief for a marvel movie and just enjoy the ride, you can do the same here. You won't be bored.
Trashfall
lareval4 February 2022
Another Emmerich mess. A Big budget wasted in a sloppy execution and a handful of stars acting by paycheck won't save a hollow script. I wonder how many professional or talented amateur writers found their work denied and how on Earth (or Moon if you like) scripts like this are produced. Rubbish! And I'm not insulting anyone, I'm just judging what I saw.
Raising the rate
saradoree12 February 2022
I'm here to cheer for the actors and incredible effort put in this underrated big screen movie.
Of course, people can claim this was Armageddon, Independence Day and to me personally even a reminder of my favorite 90s piece Contact. However, in the era of remakes of the remakes, I'm grateful for every original piece of idea, and let's be honest, the overall plot was rather original.
We all can imagine cutting few cliché scenes and dialogues, such as never ending reminders of who's thinking about their kid and such.
But it was a nice cinema ride!
Of course, people can claim this was Armageddon, Independence Day and to me personally even a reminder of my favorite 90s piece Contact. However, in the era of remakes of the remakes, I'm grateful for every original piece of idea, and let's be honest, the overall plot was rather original.
We all can imagine cutting few cliché scenes and dialogues, such as never ending reminders of who's thinking about their kid and such.
But it was a nice cinema ride!
Independence Moonmargeddon
kosmasp9 February 2022
Emmerich - who you gonna hire when it comes to a movie of this kind and calibre? I mean one is almost tempted to say that he is doing one thing in different forms/movies. There are elements from so many other movies here. Be it in the characters or the themes of the movie. The important question though is: can you suspend your disbelief? And I don't mean just a little! I am talking about all the way here.
And if you've done that, all the cliches come out and they will make you cringe. The characters feel like they have a story put upon them. You'll either find certain things gullible or plain offensive to your taste buds. The special effects are top notch, the dialog not so much. Many moments that feel ... lame quite frankly. The whole patriotism thing is to be expected - but that doesn't make it any better either. Michael Pena feels underused - I don't hate him - which may be just enough I reckon (pun intended).
Patrick Wilson and Halle Berry are the ones that save the day (no pun intended). John Bradley may be the wild card - but he also is hit and miss. His character that is, he is trying his best I'd say. Just never critisize the conspiracy guy from Godzilla versus Kong ever again, if you actually love this character right here.
Nothing more to say here other than it is quite rich, that Emmerich critisizes Star Wars and the MCU when he is unable to make a coherent Blockbuster of his own, that at times make Fast and Furious look like it's legit and realistic ... I know, right? But as you can see in my rating, I didn't mind too much ... or rather I'm being "kind" again - something I have been accused of a lot anyway.
And if you've done that, all the cliches come out and they will make you cringe. The characters feel like they have a story put upon them. You'll either find certain things gullible or plain offensive to your taste buds. The special effects are top notch, the dialog not so much. Many moments that feel ... lame quite frankly. The whole patriotism thing is to be expected - but that doesn't make it any better either. Michael Pena feels underused - I don't hate him - which may be just enough I reckon (pun intended).
Patrick Wilson and Halle Berry are the ones that save the day (no pun intended). John Bradley may be the wild card - but he also is hit and miss. His character that is, he is trying his best I'd say. Just never critisize the conspiracy guy from Godzilla versus Kong ever again, if you actually love this character right here.
Nothing more to say here other than it is quite rich, that Emmerich critisizes Star Wars and the MCU when he is unable to make a coherent Blockbuster of his own, that at times make Fast and Furious look like it's legit and realistic ... I know, right? But as you can see in my rating, I didn't mind too much ... or rather I'm being "kind" again - something I have been accused of a lot anyway.
Big, dumb and fun
evasmum3 February 2022
What can I say? Went in with low expectations - but it was BIG, DUMB and fun! Nice special effects, thoroughly amiable, competent performances - the science is rubbish (but c'mon - it's written by the ID4 guy).
ALSO - Roland REALLY needs support for his step-father issues. Why does he need to hurt every step-father in his movies?
Anyway. It's fine - just don't get hung up on the science.
ALSO - Roland REALLY needs support for his step-father issues. Why does he need to hurt every step-father in his movies?
Anyway. It's fine - just don't get hung up on the science.
Ranks among the stupidest, most ridiculous movies to come from a director like this, and that's saying something
MrDHWong12 May 2022
"Moonfall" is a sci-fi disaster film directed and co-written by Roland Emmerich ("Independence Day", "The Day After Tomorrow", "2012"). Starring Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, and John Bradley, it ranks among the stupidest, most ridiculous movies to come from a director like this, and that's saying something.
After a mysterious force knocks the Moon out of orbit, conspiracy theorist K. C. Houseman (John Bradley) discovers that it is due to collide with the Earth in a matter of weeks. The news soon gets through to former astronaut turned NASA executive Jocinda Fowler (Halle Berry) who comes up with a plan to save all of humanity from impending disaster. With time quickly running out, Fowler teams up with Houseman and her old astronaut colleague Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) on a mission into outer space to prevent the Moon from wiping out everyone and everything they love.
Aside from perhaps the first "Independence Day" and "The Patriot", I've never been a fan of Roland Emmerich's work. Like Michael Bay, I think his films are too reliant on mindless explosions and destructive forces rather than meaningful stories and properly developed characters. However, it seems there are a select few people out there who actually enjoy these types of movies as they provide simple popcorn entertainment that doesn't require too much thought process. While I can understand the need to turn one's brain off every now and then to unwind, there's only so much implausibility I can handle before it starts to get on my nerves. "Moonfall" is another example of what Emmerich's movies are capable of, and that is overcompensating for a lack of intelligent storytelling with as much CGI-filled destruction as possible.
What surprised me the most was that in spite of its ridiculously silly plot, the film never once had me invested in anything that was happening. Usually the cheesiest of films have at least one thing that can hold my interest but as I was watching I could never find anything remotely worthwhile following. It was at that point I realised what was wrong - I had already seen everything in this film years ago. The complete lack of imagination in the film's screenplay had it ripping off other Roland Emmerich films like "The Day After Tomorrow" with abnormal weather ploughing through cities and "2012" with huge tsunamis tossing cargo ships into buildings. Even with my disbelief suspended to the maximum, I still couldn't get past how shamelessly derivative and lazy the film was in rehashing every disaster movie cliché we've seen in the past 30 years.
Oftentimes I am willing to forgive a film's implausible story if there is a certain amusement factor to balance things out. The problem with this film is that I struggled to find anything fun or entertaining that's worth mentioning. Frequently I found myself rolling my eyes at how just many plotholes, inconsistencies, and convenient coincidences there were riddled throughout the film. Additionally, there's no feeling of suspense or tension whenever a character is placed in a dangerous situation. For example, during a lengthy car chase I didn't feel any excitement because I could immediately the main characters would survive merely because the plot demands it. Moments like this take me out of the movie since I can only sever my disbelief for so long before I tune out altogether. Because of this, within the first half hour, I was already bored out of my mind.
As for the CGI effects, they are mediocre at best. Sure, there are some decent shots of the Moon drifting closer towards the Earth that give off a sense of peril, but everything else looked incredibly unconvincing. For example, during the previously mentioned car chase scene, each of the cars looked so fake that it felt as though I were watching a cutscene from a PlayStation 2 game. This may have looked alright 30 years ago but this is coming from a film released in 2022. Perhaps I have simply become desensitised to all the much better looking CGI in films made by people who know what they are doing whereas almost everything in this one seemed unusually amateurish.
Very few people remember the cast members in a Roland Emmerich film and there's a good reason for that - they are written so one dimensionally that they never have a chance to leave an impression on the viewer. Halle Berry always seemed so distant from her character. She never once had me believe that she was the type of person who had crawled her way up the corporate ladder at NASA to become its Deputy Director. It's a shame because I think she is an otherwise talented actress who has unfortunately made a number of poor choices in picking roles since she won an Oscar. I assume she only did this film for the paycheck so hopefully she made some decent money from this experience.
Patrick Wilson tries to chew the scenery as a disgraced former astronaut, but I never once felt any sympathy towards him because his character is so bland and unlikeable. In the beginning they attempt to set him up as a fallen hero seeking redemption but most of the time he keeps digging himself deeper into despair. This man is intended to be someone the audience should care about so it makes no sense for film to constantly show the negative aspects of his character to the point where you pity him rather than feel any admiration. There's only so much self-destructive behaviour you can show someone inflicting on themselves before you lose respect for them and start to think that maybe they've earned their place at rock bottom.
The only character that comes close to having some dimension was K. C. Houseman, played by John Bradley. Although he is essentially a stock conspiracy theorist who turns out to be right in the end, Bradley at least looks like he's having some fun with the role. Maybe it's because he's the only one of the three main characters whom the audience can sort of relate to simply because he seems more like an actual person than the others. With that said, he's still very similar to other conspiracy-focused characters in previous Roland Emmerich films like Woody Harrelson in "2012" and Randy Quaid in "Independence Day", which again brings to mind how cookie cutter all these films truly are.
If I haven't made it clear by now, "Moonfall" is nothing more than another film to throw on the pile of Roland Emmerich disaster flicks that serves no other purpose than to show off as much mindless destruction and chaos as possible. It may not be as bad as "10,000 BC", but it's sure up there with the worst of his films. Then again, some people flock to Emmerich's movies for this very reason so I suppose it should fill that void for those craving their fix. As for others who may be forced to sit through it, you might as well play what I like to call "Disaster Movie Bingo" to pass some time until the credits. In fact, I'll even help you get started: Major landmarks destroyed? Check. Implausible science? Check. Nonsensical plot devices? Check. Forgettable supporting characters? Check. Incompetent Military? Bingo!
I rate it 3.5/10.
After a mysterious force knocks the Moon out of orbit, conspiracy theorist K. C. Houseman (John Bradley) discovers that it is due to collide with the Earth in a matter of weeks. The news soon gets through to former astronaut turned NASA executive Jocinda Fowler (Halle Berry) who comes up with a plan to save all of humanity from impending disaster. With time quickly running out, Fowler teams up with Houseman and her old astronaut colleague Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) on a mission into outer space to prevent the Moon from wiping out everyone and everything they love.
Aside from perhaps the first "Independence Day" and "The Patriot", I've never been a fan of Roland Emmerich's work. Like Michael Bay, I think his films are too reliant on mindless explosions and destructive forces rather than meaningful stories and properly developed characters. However, it seems there are a select few people out there who actually enjoy these types of movies as they provide simple popcorn entertainment that doesn't require too much thought process. While I can understand the need to turn one's brain off every now and then to unwind, there's only so much implausibility I can handle before it starts to get on my nerves. "Moonfall" is another example of what Emmerich's movies are capable of, and that is overcompensating for a lack of intelligent storytelling with as much CGI-filled destruction as possible.
What surprised me the most was that in spite of its ridiculously silly plot, the film never once had me invested in anything that was happening. Usually the cheesiest of films have at least one thing that can hold my interest but as I was watching I could never find anything remotely worthwhile following. It was at that point I realised what was wrong - I had already seen everything in this film years ago. The complete lack of imagination in the film's screenplay had it ripping off other Roland Emmerich films like "The Day After Tomorrow" with abnormal weather ploughing through cities and "2012" with huge tsunamis tossing cargo ships into buildings. Even with my disbelief suspended to the maximum, I still couldn't get past how shamelessly derivative and lazy the film was in rehashing every disaster movie cliché we've seen in the past 30 years.
Oftentimes I am willing to forgive a film's implausible story if there is a certain amusement factor to balance things out. The problem with this film is that I struggled to find anything fun or entertaining that's worth mentioning. Frequently I found myself rolling my eyes at how just many plotholes, inconsistencies, and convenient coincidences there were riddled throughout the film. Additionally, there's no feeling of suspense or tension whenever a character is placed in a dangerous situation. For example, during a lengthy car chase I didn't feel any excitement because I could immediately the main characters would survive merely because the plot demands it. Moments like this take me out of the movie since I can only sever my disbelief for so long before I tune out altogether. Because of this, within the first half hour, I was already bored out of my mind.
As for the CGI effects, they are mediocre at best. Sure, there are some decent shots of the Moon drifting closer towards the Earth that give off a sense of peril, but everything else looked incredibly unconvincing. For example, during the previously mentioned car chase scene, each of the cars looked so fake that it felt as though I were watching a cutscene from a PlayStation 2 game. This may have looked alright 30 years ago but this is coming from a film released in 2022. Perhaps I have simply become desensitised to all the much better looking CGI in films made by people who know what they are doing whereas almost everything in this one seemed unusually amateurish.
Very few people remember the cast members in a Roland Emmerich film and there's a good reason for that - they are written so one dimensionally that they never have a chance to leave an impression on the viewer. Halle Berry always seemed so distant from her character. She never once had me believe that she was the type of person who had crawled her way up the corporate ladder at NASA to become its Deputy Director. It's a shame because I think she is an otherwise talented actress who has unfortunately made a number of poor choices in picking roles since she won an Oscar. I assume she only did this film for the paycheck so hopefully she made some decent money from this experience.
Patrick Wilson tries to chew the scenery as a disgraced former astronaut, but I never once felt any sympathy towards him because his character is so bland and unlikeable. In the beginning they attempt to set him up as a fallen hero seeking redemption but most of the time he keeps digging himself deeper into despair. This man is intended to be someone the audience should care about so it makes no sense for film to constantly show the negative aspects of his character to the point where you pity him rather than feel any admiration. There's only so much self-destructive behaviour you can show someone inflicting on themselves before you lose respect for them and start to think that maybe they've earned their place at rock bottom.
The only character that comes close to having some dimension was K. C. Houseman, played by John Bradley. Although he is essentially a stock conspiracy theorist who turns out to be right in the end, Bradley at least looks like he's having some fun with the role. Maybe it's because he's the only one of the three main characters whom the audience can sort of relate to simply because he seems more like an actual person than the others. With that said, he's still very similar to other conspiracy-focused characters in previous Roland Emmerich films like Woody Harrelson in "2012" and Randy Quaid in "Independence Day", which again brings to mind how cookie cutter all these films truly are.
If I haven't made it clear by now, "Moonfall" is nothing more than another film to throw on the pile of Roland Emmerich disaster flicks that serves no other purpose than to show off as much mindless destruction and chaos as possible. It may not be as bad as "10,000 BC", but it's sure up there with the worst of his films. Then again, some people flock to Emmerich's movies for this very reason so I suppose it should fill that void for those craving their fix. As for others who may be forced to sit through it, you might as well play what I like to call "Disaster Movie Bingo" to pass some time until the credits. In fact, I'll even help you get started: Major landmarks destroyed? Check. Implausible science? Check. Nonsensical plot devices? Check. Forgettable supporting characters? Check. Incompetent Military? Bingo!
I rate it 3.5/10.
Fun guilty pleasure
8512222 April 2022
Greetings from Lithuania.
If you are on a boring weekend, and it happens that you have a few free hours to waste, some light alcohol nearby and something to eat and you are looking for a movie like "Interstellar", " 2001 Space Odyssey", "Spaceballs" and "Armageddon" (wait what??) - look no were else - "Moonfall" (2022) is a mix of all those movies and with some flavor of Star Wars. I kid you not. And don't forget to turn your brain off.
"Moonfall" is a latest disaster sci=fi movie from Roland Emmerich and if you have seen any of his movies before, you know what you will get here. I got exactly what i wanted to - a mindless yet actually solidly made nonsense that was well paced and directed - at running time 2 h i wasn't bored and as a huge science fiction fan i was mindlessly entertained. Special effects were pretty good as well as the overall experience.
Overall, "Moonfall" is the ultimate guilty pleasure. Its a movie were you have turn the logic of and just enjoy the ride. If enjoyed at least some of the previous movie of Roland Emmerich then "Moonfall" might actually be pretty nice escapism for a boring evening.
If you are on a boring weekend, and it happens that you have a few free hours to waste, some light alcohol nearby and something to eat and you are looking for a movie like "Interstellar", " 2001 Space Odyssey", "Spaceballs" and "Armageddon" (wait what??) - look no were else - "Moonfall" (2022) is a mix of all those movies and with some flavor of Star Wars. I kid you not. And don't forget to turn your brain off.
"Moonfall" is a latest disaster sci=fi movie from Roland Emmerich and if you have seen any of his movies before, you know what you will get here. I got exactly what i wanted to - a mindless yet actually solidly made nonsense that was well paced and directed - at running time 2 h i wasn't bored and as a huge science fiction fan i was mindlessly entertained. Special effects were pretty good as well as the overall experience.
Overall, "Moonfall" is the ultimate guilty pleasure. Its a movie were you have turn the logic of and just enjoy the ride. If enjoyed at least some of the previous movie of Roland Emmerich then "Moonfall" might actually be pretty nice escapism for a boring evening.
Absolutely an abomination
Xavier_Stone7 February 2022
1 star dialogue. "you do know how to start a car right?" she says. And he replies, "I should warn you, I had my license revoked." Smirk.
Lets have a mission launch date and time, and then tell everyone to go home before it kicks off. Then find a solution 3 minutes later and everyone is disappeared and not available.
A bad mix of 2012, Armageddon, The Core and other b rated films. Then make it worse. Talk about the wrong stuff. This is just terrible in all aspects.
More great dialogue. "You can't be serious." "We didn't come this far to fail." "There's gotta be another way." "God help us all."
The ending has to be rated on a 50 scale, as in 3/50. Seriously that bad.
No wonder this director only gets to make a film every 5-8 years. Only 8 in 26yrs. And he happened to have something decent with Stargate and got a spinoff. Next movie out in 2030, I'll pass.
Lets have a mission launch date and time, and then tell everyone to go home before it kicks off. Then find a solution 3 minutes later and everyone is disappeared and not available.
A bad mix of 2012, Armageddon, The Core and other b rated films. Then make it worse. Talk about the wrong stuff. This is just terrible in all aspects.
More great dialogue. "You can't be serious." "We didn't come this far to fail." "There's gotta be another way." "God help us all."
The ending has to be rated on a 50 scale, as in 3/50. Seriously that bad.
No wonder this director only gets to make a film every 5-8 years. Only 8 in 26yrs. And he happened to have something decent with Stargate and got a spinoff. Next movie out in 2030, I'll pass.
Great Fun
jeditommo-13 February 2022
If you go into this movie expecting anything other than cheesy acting and a preposterous story the you will be sorely disappointed. If you go in with your brain in neutral then you might just have some fun. Halle Berry brings a little gravitas to her role but Patrick Wilson and John Bradley ham it up for all it's worth. The special effects are pretty good and no one does end of the world stuff like Emmerick does. It has something that a lot of other movies lack, s sense of fun. It knows it's audience and never pretends to be anything other than a popcorn flick.
Just when you thought Fast 9 is the most ridiculous movie ever made...
iamianiman4 February 2022
Watching the trailer, I stuck with Zendaya's MJ's rule; 'Expect disappointment so that you can never really be disappointed.' Except that this was beyond worse than what we had imagined.
I like the idea of the film, that the moon is a threat to humanity. It's different but that's the only excellent thing to say about it. Other than that, it's a threat to our IQ.
The biggest fault with Moonfall is that it fails to project the most basic principle to making a good disaster film which is creating a sense of fear for the audience. It almost doesn't have any, resulting in a boring entry. I did not get scared or restless, it didn't connect with me on a deeper level and it certainly doesn't have a good story to keep us at the edge of our seat hence, I couldn't care less if anyone dies. I didn't have the urgency to follow all the important people trying to put a stop from the catastrophic event because they throw all stakes out the window just like the Fast & Furious franchise. The main characters are ordinary people built extraordinarily strong.
Adding the grim fact that Moonfall includes aliens composed of A. I and technology while also trying to relate to the audience by making it realistic, it falls down to the bottom of the abyss quickly. It doesn't work like other alien-based films like Prometheus or War of the Worlds did where they succeed in creating fear, showing people panicking while sucking us inside the experience.
Yes, we are supposed to surrender from the sheer silliness of it but how can we when we are made to believe that its law of physics and world principles should follow ours and they broke every threshold to the point that we feel like this is a spin-off of the Transformers franchise.
This marketed end-of-the-world disaster flick film is extremely ridiculous, even if you suspend your disbelief, you would never get your head around the plot. Not because you're dumb, but because the movie is, and I mean REALLY, REALLY dumb. It's like it's been written by Roland Emmerich's son and his dad helped him by putting scientific jargons to make it believable. Only if it did. 😩 And here I thought Independence Day 2: Resurgence was a trash, Moonfall is a shame to humanity's existence.
Usually the end of the world presents seas of people running away, but Moonfall doesn't. It's a blockbuster movie about apocalypse and yet, it feels small at times. There even isn't that many shots that 'wow' us with horrific sceneries or powerful images like 2012 or The Day After Tomorrow. Even the CGI isn't all that good especially when a person is talking mid-shot and the CGI looks awful in the background.
Now don't get me started with the cheap comedy. I'm confused whether it's intended to make us annoyed or laugh cause I didn't laugh one bit and neither did the audience I was with.
I know loving or hating a film is fully entitled to a person's taste and opinion but this movie is so bad, I dare to say this; if you like the film, you are an immature person and you have a bad taste.
Okay, maybe some of you are asking me to calm down as you're reading this but imagine the hundreds or thousands of scripts just stacking there in the room, unread because it's written by a nobody or it's got some minor English errors. And they chose this to be greenlit amongst those??? It saddens me that the political game of the Hollywood industry has come to this. Emmerich was a great director but his ideas have now diluted less and less.
Verdict: Just when you thought Fast 9 is the most ridiculous film ever made, Moonfall steals the baton happily from its opponent. By far, the worst film of 2022.
I like the idea of the film, that the moon is a threat to humanity. It's different but that's the only excellent thing to say about it. Other than that, it's a threat to our IQ.
The biggest fault with Moonfall is that it fails to project the most basic principle to making a good disaster film which is creating a sense of fear for the audience. It almost doesn't have any, resulting in a boring entry. I did not get scared or restless, it didn't connect with me on a deeper level and it certainly doesn't have a good story to keep us at the edge of our seat hence, I couldn't care less if anyone dies. I didn't have the urgency to follow all the important people trying to put a stop from the catastrophic event because they throw all stakes out the window just like the Fast & Furious franchise. The main characters are ordinary people built extraordinarily strong.
Adding the grim fact that Moonfall includes aliens composed of A. I and technology while also trying to relate to the audience by making it realistic, it falls down to the bottom of the abyss quickly. It doesn't work like other alien-based films like Prometheus or War of the Worlds did where they succeed in creating fear, showing people panicking while sucking us inside the experience.
Yes, we are supposed to surrender from the sheer silliness of it but how can we when we are made to believe that its law of physics and world principles should follow ours and they broke every threshold to the point that we feel like this is a spin-off of the Transformers franchise.
This marketed end-of-the-world disaster flick film is extremely ridiculous, even if you suspend your disbelief, you would never get your head around the plot. Not because you're dumb, but because the movie is, and I mean REALLY, REALLY dumb. It's like it's been written by Roland Emmerich's son and his dad helped him by putting scientific jargons to make it believable. Only if it did. 😩 And here I thought Independence Day 2: Resurgence was a trash, Moonfall is a shame to humanity's existence.
Usually the end of the world presents seas of people running away, but Moonfall doesn't. It's a blockbuster movie about apocalypse and yet, it feels small at times. There even isn't that many shots that 'wow' us with horrific sceneries or powerful images like 2012 or The Day After Tomorrow. Even the CGI isn't all that good especially when a person is talking mid-shot and the CGI looks awful in the background.
Now don't get me started with the cheap comedy. I'm confused whether it's intended to make us annoyed or laugh cause I didn't laugh one bit and neither did the audience I was with.
I know loving or hating a film is fully entitled to a person's taste and opinion but this movie is so bad, I dare to say this; if you like the film, you are an immature person and you have a bad taste.
Okay, maybe some of you are asking me to calm down as you're reading this but imagine the hundreds or thousands of scripts just stacking there in the room, unread because it's written by a nobody or it's got some minor English errors. And they chose this to be greenlit amongst those??? It saddens me that the political game of the Hollywood industry has come to this. Emmerich was a great director but his ideas have now diluted less and less.
Verdict: Just when you thought Fast 9 is the most ridiculous film ever made, Moonfall steals the baton happily from its opponent. By far, the worst film of 2022.
Stupid but Entertaining
travisvincent7 May 2022
Moonfall is every disaster flick you can name rolled into one. Bad dialogue but decent acting it's the special effects that save the movie from being complete garbage. On paper I can see how this movie was greenlit but the execution with the forced sentiments and interactions Moonfall isn't breaking new ground or even reinventing the genre. In order to enjoy this movie you literally need to shut off your brain and enjoy the show.
Terribly good fun
Rgeneb3 February 2022
Made no sense, plot holes you could steer the moon through. Pointless cameos and some surprisingly good acting in places. Also great fun for two hours. I'll never watch it again but it was a nice throwback to ridiculous action/disaster movies you don't see much these days. Recommended for an entertaining evening.
Arthur C. Clarke worthy idea, "Troll 2" worthy writing and directing
RunningFromSatan4 February 2022
Being a Millennial, I can attest to our generation that it was a great time to be alive with "Independence Day" and "Godzilla" being some of our favorite tween-age blow-up-knock-down action movies to go see with our friends in the theater 3 times in the same day, with campy yet lovable characters like Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum. Those were the days. I still enjoy watching those flicks from time to time - not just for the nostalgia. They are still quite entertaining in their own right.
Now we have "Moonfall" some 25 years later. Cut from the same construction paper, but more like pieces of old scripts from Roland Emmerich's late '90s writing room shredder taped together in hopes the characters and dialog would be usable in telling the grandiose destructo-type story instead of just talking props. Speaking of which, I give props to Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, and John Bradley (who actually had a solid character to go with his style) for trying, but it simply wasn't enough.
I've listened to commentaries and interviews with Emmerich and I personally think he doesn't have good instincts on how to put a balanced action film together since the mid 2000s (with the ID4 sequel, if you watch the deleted scenes cut what would've been the best and most meaningful scenes of the entire movie) with the aim of just going big and loud, using any means whatsoever. It works...until it doesn't. Action fatigue sets in frequently in this and many of his recent past movies. It's alarming when I am physically incapable of caring less about the world ending than watching these characters attempt to get from beginning to end - in fact, there was no palpable peril despite the entire earth getting properly f'ed up, we only see it in overhead shots of floods and earthquakes and meteorites (I think COVID may have had something to do with not being able to have scenes with dozens of extras on the ground clamoring over each other like in all other action flicks from the days of yore).
However, the concept was intriguing and in my opinion, pretty great. It reminds me of Arthur C. Clarke's "Rendezvous with Rama" but with the Moon instead of a floating cylinder in space. I really did enjoy watching the last 20-30 mins or so play out after an hour and a half of random skipping around characters trying to hatch the plan to get us to that point while trying to make the audience like and/or care. If the script had half the heart and good campiness of something like "Independence Day", it definitely could have kicked my rating up a little.
Wait for streaming.
Now we have "Moonfall" some 25 years later. Cut from the same construction paper, but more like pieces of old scripts from Roland Emmerich's late '90s writing room shredder taped together in hopes the characters and dialog would be usable in telling the grandiose destructo-type story instead of just talking props. Speaking of which, I give props to Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, and John Bradley (who actually had a solid character to go with his style) for trying, but it simply wasn't enough.
I've listened to commentaries and interviews with Emmerich and I personally think he doesn't have good instincts on how to put a balanced action film together since the mid 2000s (with the ID4 sequel, if you watch the deleted scenes cut what would've been the best and most meaningful scenes of the entire movie) with the aim of just going big and loud, using any means whatsoever. It works...until it doesn't. Action fatigue sets in frequently in this and many of his recent past movies. It's alarming when I am physically incapable of caring less about the world ending than watching these characters attempt to get from beginning to end - in fact, there was no palpable peril despite the entire earth getting properly f'ed up, we only see it in overhead shots of floods and earthquakes and meteorites (I think COVID may have had something to do with not being able to have scenes with dozens of extras on the ground clamoring over each other like in all other action flicks from the days of yore).
However, the concept was intriguing and in my opinion, pretty great. It reminds me of Arthur C. Clarke's "Rendezvous with Rama" but with the Moon instead of a floating cylinder in space. I really did enjoy watching the last 20-30 mins or so play out after an hour and a half of random skipping around characters trying to hatch the plan to get us to that point while trying to make the audience like and/or care. If the script had half the heart and good campiness of something like "Independence Day", it definitely could have kicked my rating up a little.
Wait for streaming.
Daft but lots of fun
obyvaughan1 May 2022
It's all REALLY silly. But really fun silly. If you enter this expecting anything else you shouldn't have started in the first place. Grab the popcorn, sit back and try to forget that you've become cynical about almost everything else in life!
One of the worst SciFi movies I have ever seen...
eric-malamisura16 April 2022
Where to start? This movie had nothing good about it, at all. Not even one tiny sliver. Everything, literally everything about this movie sucked. Nothing made sense. I would say it's a B movie because the graphics are decent, but the acting, dialogue, story, etc. Pushes it to a C movie really.
Anti science / NASA hit piece?
Homer_Ate216 April 2022
Big Bang Style
Tweetienator7 February 2022
If you watch a disaster movie made by Roland Emmerich you get what you expect: big explosions, fine work by the special departments and a rather simple story with forgettable characters. Moonfall is no exception - get your coke and pop-corn, lay back and enjoy the show. But in the case you don't like that kind of big screen disaster movies, don't bother.
Hugely underrated
dan4287 February 2022
This is a sci-fi disaster action movie.. let's get that out of the way. Yes it's "dumb", but so are nearly all the others if you take them seriously. I thought that's why we watch them? For fun! This movie was a ton of fun to watch in the theater. That's exactly what I was hoping for, just a fun dumb movie that I could enjoy. My expectations were very low given the ratings, but I also knew that some of my favorite movies were panned by critics so I gave it a shot anyway. Glad I did!
Some of the actors were better than others but I don't think any of them were terrible.. they played their parts well enough. The plot and story probably deserve a lower rating but the dumb fun aspect is 8/10.
Some of the actors were better than others but I don't think any of them were terrible.. they played their parts well enough. The plot and story probably deserve a lower rating but the dumb fun aspect is 8/10.
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