Estación lunar 44

The film was interesting sci-fi fare. I felt for the characters in their pridicaments. Granted, it could have been much better, but it could have been worse to. I guess the biggest complaint that I have is that the DVD was released in the inferior format of full frame. I would like to have the opportunity to see the film in it's intended format so that I can get all the necessary information to determine if this is a better film than I think. Thus far all I have seen is the blur of the full frame destruction of the film. Come on Artisan, get with the program!

Moon 44 is one of those little sci-fi films which really slipped through the cracks during the 1980s and early 90s. Sadly, these types of tales are nothing more than straight to video fodder with absolutely horrid acting, so this represents one of the last of the cool, dark sci-fi films. I was rather mesmerized the first time I watched this in 1992, and I thought it was better the second time around. This ranks as one of those dark films among the likes of Outland and Silent Running. Good show if I had seen any.

It's 2038. Earth's resources are depleted. Multinational corporations control far off mining operations in the outer zone. Moon 47 is attacked by robot fighters. With an expected attack on Moon 44, Galactic Mining sends in young tech nerd navigators to guide helicopter pilots. With no one for the dangerous piloting jobs, the company recruits willing prisoners. There is an issue with the situation and internal affairs is needed. The company offers the job to Felix Stone (Michael Paré) in exchange for cancelling his contract.

This is early B-movie Roland Emmerich. I remember watching some of this back in the day. It's got good miniatures but the action is limited filmmaking. Limited is the catch phrase for most of this movie. While I remember the conflict between navigators and pilots, the secret sabotage is forgettable. More than anything, the acting is B-level led by Michael Paré. They are perfectly fine for this solid B-movie. Perfectly fine B-movie defines everything aspect of this movie.

This is a stylish looking movie, with moody lighting and atmospheric industrial sets. The space ships are cool - though why the good guys only have helicopters is a puzzle. The characters are likable enough but some are out-of-the-box Hollywood cutouts. The actors are either almost famous, or look hauntingly like people who are - I spent a lot of time wondering if I had seen them before (I hadn't it turns out). The story is OK, however there are a few plot glitches, and at times the story line is a bit thin. There are no real surprises - and no moral ambiguity. The dialogue is OK but once or twice stinks so bad you'll cringe (it may have been an attempt at humour?). At least there are no sudden swerves into the horror genre, and no completely unexplainable plot twists (as in Sunshine for instance).

If you like sci-fi anyway you probably be forgiving enough to enjoy this. I got the DVD for £1 at Tescos so I feel I got my money's worth.

I'm suprised about the amount of positivity expressed towards this movie as it is quite poor. As a long standing SF fan I was looking forward to it, despite it's low budget and the fact that the director's subsequent movies have been less than satisfactory.

The good points: The special effects are reasonable (although not great) and the set designs are excellent (quite reminiscent of Alien.)

The bad points: Cliche after cliche hits you until you can't take it seriously. The handsome tough guy cop who smokes a cigarette out of the corner of his mouth. You'll hate this character unless you like one dimensional humourless carboard cut out stereotypes.

The muscle bound convicts who bully everyone else. IS this a prison for body builders or something?

The geeky computer wiz kids and their quirky humour. How we laughed.

The obvious 'good guy saves the day' ending.

Malcolm Mcdowell. Why does he take movies like this? Such a fine actor is wasted here.

The plot holes are too numerous to mention here but there are lots and lots - probably about 44.

There really isn't anything to like about this film apart from the average visuals.

I advise you to give this one a miss and pick up a very similar but far superiour movie called 'Outland' starring Sean Connery and directed by Peter Hyams.