Moon Zero Two

"Moon zero two" does not deserve such a low rating ;it is very entertaining ,its screenplay -which sometimes looks like a sci -fi western: the "saloon" and the 'gold digger " brother - is never dull;it even displays some humor :the "Moonopoly" is a very good idea! The two plots -although implausible- are smartly connected.The special effects are not bad for the time ,considering a relatively low budget.Actually it could be a comic ,a Flash Gordon adventure ;if you are looking for "2001" ,you 'd better move on ;but if you simply want to have a good time,you can watch it.

The only real horror is the cartoon of the cast and credits and an awful song.

What happens when you combine go-go girls, disco music, spaghetti westerns, and 60s sci-fi? "Moon Zero Two" happens, that's what.

The storyline reads like an after-school special, without much character development; but the parts are all well-acted. The miniatures and set designs are well-done, but true to the time; the costumes are mostly vibrant colors and PVC. There are honest efforts made to maintain credibility, such as the lack of noise in a vacuum, and no 'magic gravity' in space. The science is actually quite believable, especially in comparison to other 60s sci-fi.

There are elements ("Moonopoly", six-shooters holstered in PVC gun-belts outside space suits, the moon saloon) of this movie that make it painfully cheesy at times, but not the same "so bad that it's good" cheese one would expect. It's more of a "I'm embarrassed to remember when those things were cool" kind of cheesy.

Overall, an enjoyable watch (depending on your tolerance for '60s kitch) - 6 out of 10.

Interesting effort here by the usually predictable Hammer Studios, best known for all those low budget Dracula movies with Christopher Lee and Frankenstein movies with Peter Cushing. Hammer actually worked in a number of genres during their heyday, with spy films and crime thrillers, wartime potboilers, pirate escapades. They had already crossed their usual horror motifs with a heavy dose of science fiction with their "Quatermass" series, but for whatever reason Hammer never made a traditional looking western, even though some of their principal talent had contributed to a couple. Too bad, I am sure they would have had an intriguing go at it.

This was their compromise, a clearly 2001 inspired concoction mixing some of the more obvious elements of a western -- six guns, saloons, claim jumping gunslingers, a fetching damsel in distress, a cynical hero -- with the then familiar trappings of science fiction space epics. Space suits instead of cowboy attire, moon buggies instead of stagecoaches, and a lady moon sheriff who packs twin pistols in holsters attached to her thigh-high Go Go boots. Whatever. The idea was viable enough for Peter Hyams to revisit in a more sober manner with 1981's "Outland", a subtle remake of "High Noon" set at a mining complex on one of Jupiter's moons.

The blend of genres will either go over well or create profound disbelief, as is evidenced by the film having been enshrined in Mystery Science Theater 3000's hall of fame of parody screenings with all those annoying, smug comments from the dorks in the front row superimposed on the screen. The film is silly enough in itself without their schtick (I'm not a big MST3K fan, sorry), and just as with Elvira, just because they choose to send up a given movie that doesn't mean it may not have some redeeming parts.

This one does, mostly in an endearing willingness to try anything, and for Hammer what was actually a pretty significant budget that let them pull off some ingenious little effects sequences. My favorite touch are the little Moon Fargo buggies, which sure are radio controlled models in the long shots, but by golly they have a sort of charm about them that belies their phoniness. We forgive because in the context of the kind of entertainment we are looking at, namely 1960s European made science fiction, they work just fine.

The story isn't much, but then again the whole show is in the production design, which as others point out apes Apollo era technologies as much as it does a 2001 inspired antiseptic, shiny rubberized look. Some may poke fun at the silly hairstyles and clumsy looking costumes, I say they fit in perfectly with the movie's aesthetic. There is even a healthy dose of realistic science thrown in alongside such recurring SF themes as artificial gravity, miniature space colonies, and foxy babes who casually strip down to their space age underwear once the air conditioning gives out.

Newly re-released by Warner's on a double movie DVD along with the equally long overdue "When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth". Couldn't recommend them more, beats the crap out of anything currently projecting onto screens in empty theaters at the cineplexes in any event, and just stupid enough to warrant repeat casual guilty pleasure viewing.

6/10

"Moon Zero Two" was the most expensive film ever produced by Hammer Studios and is one of the oddest they ever created: a psychedelic western set on the moon in 2021 complete with claim-jumping, gunfights, zero gravity bar fights, candy colored space suits and go-go dancers. SF fans will enjoy early appearances by James Olson ("The Andromeda Strain") and Catherine Schell ("Space 1999"). Also Hammer alumnae Warren Mitchell as the chief villain, Adrienne Corri as a cop (loved her boots), Bernard Bresslaw as a heavy and, of course, Michael Ripper scarfing up distilled rocket fuel at the saloon. The special effects are not that bad. Great '60s kitsch and fun if you don't take it seriously, "Austin Powers" fans may dig it.

When you see Eddie Murphy's upcoming "Pluto Nash" you'll be surprised just how many ideas were taken from this film.

A space-pilot is caught up in a claim-jumping scheme on the far side of the Moon. Touted as the first 'Moon-western', the film would have been much better if it had simply lifted plot and character tropes from the classic oaters and dispensed with silly trappings such as the 'gunfighter-style' holsters and the awful 'saloon-themed' bar complete with the dancing girls and inevitable brawl (a particularly silly scene). On the plus side, 'Moon Zero Two' has the entertaining look of contemporaneous British science fiction with carefully detailed and well thought-out miniatures, and fashions and hair styles straight out of 'UFO' (1970) or 'Space 1999' (1975). The central plot is clever (albeit implausible) and the special effects generally good (although as usual the filmmakers couldn't resist adding sounds in space). The cast of British character actors is OK but they are saddled with trying to deliver an awkward mélange of adventure and parody through a tongue-in-cheek script that is nether very clever nor witty. Unfortunately, the end product is a film that is worse than it looks and likely of interest only to fans of genre fans or those nostalgic for the short skirts, austere jumpsuits, beepy machines, and vibrantly coloured wigs of the British vison of the future in the late 60s/early '70s. If you can sit though the goofy, incredibly 60s-looking, animated opening-credits sequence and tolerate the theme song, you can probably survive watching the film.