Moonfall

release year: 2022
genre: apocalypse disaster drama
viewing setting: home streaming 3/2/23

synopsis: The moon breaks free of its orbit and threatens to destroy the Earth.

impressions: I can't speak for the science here, but it was definitely entertaining, both as a "what if the moon was going to collide with the Earth" thought experiment and then also the reason behind all of that, which ventures into "Ancient Aliens" territory. I'm sure that somewhere, somehow, certain of that show's producers were excited as they watched this movie. Anyhow, it's science fiction for sure, and has some chases both on Earth and in space. I will say that it suffers from the all-too-familiar problem of people having long, extended dialogue while some countdown to destruction nears its final seconds.

acting: Patrick Wilson is the disgraced astronaut who ends up as the only one who can possibly save the world. Halle Berry is his former crewmate and now head of NASA, who sees what needs to be tried (however crazy it may be) and jumps into action. John Bradley is a nerdy would-be scientist. Kelly Yu is a babysitter who ends up facing on-Earth survival challenges, along with Charlie Plummer and others. Michael Pena and Donald Sutherland have minor roles.

final word: Insane sci-fi epic about the potential destruction of our planet.

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