Film Review: MOON (2009) - Revisited

Director: Duncan Jones
Writers: Duncan Jones (story), Nathan Parker
Running time: 97 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Drama/Sci-Fi
UK Release date: 17^th July 2009

Watched on DVD Monday 31^st December 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I saw this film on release and very much enjoyed it; I subsequently bought the DVD but never got around to watching it until today. It has to be said I enjoyed it even more this time around; beautifully paced with a stand-out performance from Sam Rockwell. Here’s a very brief, and spoiler free (I hope), summary before I delve deeper.

In order to ease Earth’s energy crisis, Lunar Industries has several machines harvesting Helium 3 from the rocks on the far side of the moon. These machines are watched over from a base by one Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell). He is on a three year contract but gets regular messages from his wife Tess (Dominique McElligott) and their young daughter, Eve. As he is nearing the end of his contract, Sam finds his health beginning to deteriorate. Whilst out checking on one of the harvesters he has an accident and crashes his rover. He wakes up in the infirmary back at base with no knowledge of the crash. He has noticed one of the harvesters is not moving and wants to investigate but GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey); the base computer has orders to keep him inside until a rescue team can get there. Sam manages to get outside and makes his way to the harvester; what he finds there will totally change his life! I guess that’s enough – I don’t want to be accused of giving too much away now!

There is much to admire in this film; everything from Sam Rockwell’s tremendous performance to the special effects on the lunar surface (all done with miniatures). The musical score by Clint Mansell is also excellent; slowly building until the end where it really cuts loose. I thought it was good back in 2009 when I had a 30 mile round-trip to see it; but it was even better this time around. I don’t know whether it’s because I’ve seen so many other films in the mean time or what; but it really struck a chord with me this time! If you love your sci-fi then it’s one I can heartily recommend.

SteelMonster’s verdict: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

My score: 9.6/10.

IMDb Score: 8.0/10 (based on 135,404 votes when this review was written).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/

MetaScore: 67/100: (Based on 28 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 90/100 (based on 181 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 86/100 (based on 89,542 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10009075-moon/

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FAVOURITE QUOTES:
GERTY: Sam, I can only account for what occurs on this base.

[repeated line]
Computer: Searching for long-range comms.

Sam Bell: You've been up here too long man. You've lost your marbles.

Sam Bell: Are you OK with that?
GERTY: I'm here to keep you safe, Sam. I want to help you.

LINKS:
(NOTE: All links were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.sonyclassics.com/moon/
Trailer: (NOTE: Trailer gives away a tad more than I do in the review)