Moon

Lunar Industries is mining an alternate fuel, helium-3, when a massive oil crisis exists on Earth. The station is run by a single man, Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) with the help of Gertie, a Hal-like computer who drags itself around with a chain that has rollers on the ceilings of various compartments of the station.. He has a lilting voice (Kevin Spacey) just like Hal and is completely benevolent helping Sam in any way he can. I would prefer this thing over Hal any old day. Sam runs tests and makes reports, drives a mobile unit to the mines and packs canisters of H3 and sends them back to Earth. But he is nearly done with all this. Sam Bell is getting short, as they say, having only two weeks before going home after a three-year tour of duty. Then things begin to unravel.

This is sci-fi that sticks to our own sensibilities. It's futuristic in a most limited sense. There are no extravagant elements, time travel, parallel universes, or monsters that walk through walls. Sam Bell would probably have the same attitudes towards these things that we do. In other words, it takes place in "real" life. The interior of the station is clever but there is an admirable restraint. It's like Alien in this way.

There are other credits, but Sam Rockwell has 99% of the burden. A wonderful resume item, succeeding as he does not only carrying the film but holding it up like Hercules who has the world on his back. He imbues Sam Bell with an exuberant child-like demeanor that pulled me into the movie. He bobbles around the room to his favorite rock n' roll. But he's not irresponsible or a ne'er do well with his job. He is deadly serious, but wavering with the events of his life in these last two weeks.

Okay, here's the basic plot (without the twist-spoiler):

Place: The moon. Time: A future not long from now (2030-ish I think). Sam Bell, astronaut, is working on a lunar base of some sort. He is the only person on the entire base, only assisted by an all-knowing robot called GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey). He has been stationed on the base for almost 3 years, his contract nearing an end, and with his flight back to earth scheduled only 14 days away, he can't wait to get back home to see his wife and daughter again. However, suddenly one of the automated moon-vehicles (harvesting rock-samples or whatever) goes awry, and he goes outside of the base to investigate it... but then something unexpected happens, and he has to change his perspective on everything.

• End of basic plot summary.

Bell is played by the brilliant Sam Rockwell, whom you probably know from "Charlie's Angels", "The Green Mile", "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind", "Matchstick Men" or the equally brilliant sci-fi movies "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" and "Galaxy Quest". This is probably his biggest part in a movie EVER, and I doubt if he will ever get a role as big as this again (not because he's not capable or worthy of it, but because it was a HUGE performance). If you're a fan of Rockwell (or perhaps of Kevin Spacey's voice), then you will not be disappointed, as they're both great in "Moon".

For sci-fi lovers, this movie is really a blast. It takes some inspiration from such classics like "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Outland", "Silent Running", "Alien", and others, but still manages to be unique and original, something which has become increasingly rare in the recent big-budget/massive special effects/quick fix-tradition of Hollywood nowadays. "Moon" achieved something great for a budget of approximately 5 million dollars, which is ridiculously low by regular movie-standards, where a feature film usually would cost ten times that amount.

As for the theme of the movie, the subjects of alienation, solitude, dehumanization and disbelief are risen (among others), which often leads to some of the best movies (in my opinion), as is the case here too.

All in all, this movie definitely ranks among my personal top-20 all-time sci-fi favorites, and I will presume it will be placed equally high on most sci-fi aficionado's lists. An excellent debut directorial by Duncan Jones, and clearly one of the 5 best sci-fi movies made in the last 10 years. Already looking forward to his next feature film, which allegedly is also going to be a sci-fi movie (although with a much bigger budget).

Final rating: 9.5/10 - a nearly flawless movie.

While book racks are brimming with thought provoking, high concept science fiction, the movie genre tends to be populated by invading aliens, intergalactic wars, and adventure, which makes Director and co-writer Duncan Jones' Moon that much more of an oddity.

Not since Steven Soderbergh's much overlooked 2002 rendition of Stanislaw Lem's Solaris has a movie firmly rooted in the sci-fi realm delivered reflections on the human condition, which Moon does deftly.

It tells the story of Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), the only inhabitant of an automated lunar mining base extracting Helium-3 from lunar rocks to be shipped back to Earth to fuel the energy starved planet.

Sam's isolated three year posting is about to come to an end and he longs to return to Earth to see his wife. His only company throughout this sojourn has been that of Gerty, the base's HAL-like robot voiced by Kevin Spacey. Unfortunately, the final weeks and days are proving to be the most difficult, and Sam finds himself going a bit squirrelly, leaving both he and the audience to wonder if what's unfolding is actually happening, or merely a drama taking place in his addled mind.

That's about as much plot detail as I'm going to deliver, for to delve any deeper into the story would give too much away. Be prepared, however, for a thought provoking narrative that touches on issues such as scientific ethics, corporate greed, human identity, and compassion.

There are no aliens, lasers/phasers, wormholes, warp engines or jump drives here, just a lonely space age concierge, an unflappable monotone robot, and a whole lot of fodder for your brain to chow down on.

This is what science fiction was meant to be.

I was led to this movie, partly because of a sort of dissatisfaction from what we've known as science fiction due to Star-Treks, Star wars, terminators and transformers. On my visit to the local independent movie theater, I was only expecting something like Apollo 13 and I would've been satisfied with just that.

But the movie proved to be much more. It wasn't just the cinematography, few captivating shots of the moon surface, or the great acting performance. It was as if the movie took a while to ponder over philosophical questions that science and technology raise- something that every science fiction ought to do.

This work won't be unworthy of a comparison with Kubrick's- space odyssey – only that it is probably not as visually stimulating as the latter. It does make good use of classical music like Kubrick's. I found the movie to be a bit more accessible than Tarkovsky's Solaris in that it is much more fluid and entertaining (Solaris was 3 hr long – executed very slow albeit with a similar idea). Like Solaris, the protagonist's recollections of the life on earth eventually result in some mental instability, but the movie stays away from getting into long philosophical debates on human experience or our place on earth.

In general, do expect a lot more than space travel in this movie. To cite an example, the isolation of Sam made him more attached to memories of his life on earth. I don't recall many other movies that have expressed it so well that in isolation, nothing really means anything. Kudos to the director! Such existentialist reflections aside, there are many instances when the movie makes a statement about unethical corporate practices, evasive HR responses - almost to the extent 'Michael Clayton' did. I think that makes it more worthwhile to watch. Still despite all that, it avoids taking any stances on controversies that bother all of us in modern times. It puts us through the fears of the unknown, catastrophes of distrust and what arises from distrust and isolation and all of that.

Still, somehow the movie isn't really as dark as the script might make it sound. There is isolation, mistrust, schemes, confusion, curiosities and despair, but the human experience probably transcends the realism of its existence – that was the idea I carried back from the movie theater.

In short, this is one of the best sci-fi movies I have seen in a LONG time. Sam Rockwell plays it perfect, making the viewer feel his isolation and lonelieness. For a low budget film, the few effect shots work seamlessly. I'm trying to remain spoiler free, so I won't bother to explain the plot. If you like older and more story/character driven sci-fi, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, than chances are you will love this movie. If you aren't a huge fan of sci-fi, take a chance with this one. You may find it a very rewarding experience. I loved this movie, and I can't stop thinking about it. In Moon, you may begin to think that everything is a big cliché, but than with all of the seemingly cliché plot points, Moon changes them into something entirely original and unexpected. It is an excellent piece of art and I have a strong feeling not enough people will see and appreciate it like I did.