Aside from Roland Emmerich’s recent comments regarding the status of MCU, DC and Star Wars films, Emmerich has a list of movies that can considering wins. Whether we like it or not, Roland Emmerich certainly has a lot of missteps as a filmmaker, whether it’s Independence Day: Resurgence, Godzilla or the disaster that was 10,000 BC. However, he’s got a list of movies that are solid entertainment and a lot of fun, such as the first Independence Day, The Patriot and even The Day After Tomorrow. The ones that are kind of in the middle like White House Down, 2012 or Midway aren’t necessarily great films but there’s something about them that have a slight redemption quality to it. Be that as may, Roland Emmerich has proven in the past that even if there’s poor character development or its narrative isn’t as rich as it wants to be, he can deliver on great spectacle and popcorn fun. He’s more along the lines of a director like Michael Bay and that’s not to say that ones is better over the other, but they both fall into that camp of summer fun and all of its extravaganza. The problem with Roland Emmerich isn’t necessarily an issue of quality but it’s more that he hasn’t had a hit since 2012, which was over 10 years ago at thus point and time. White House Down, 2012, Midway and Independence Day: Resurgence were financial losses and critically they weren’t too hot. Obviously, his most recent comments on comic-book movies is a whole other thing entirely but it’s certainly not helping his own movies.
Regardless what we think about his comments and even some of his movies, there is always some enticement and excitement for any Roland Emmerich movie because he really goes for big scale and usually he always exceeds on that level alone. With Moonfall being his next go at another natural disaster flick, he almost nails it but fails at the same time. Moonfall is a dumb, dopey and laughable disaster flick from the man known for disaster flicks. At the same time, there is enjoyment to be had with it. It’s easy to cherry pick how weak the characters might come across and how little to no emotional weight is there but it’s an enjoyable experience with great spectacle and a lot of moon falling.
In Moonfall, an unidentifiable force knocks the Moon completely out of orbit and sends Earth down a path of complete extinction. With the fate of the Earth the be completely obliterated, it’s up to NASA executive and former astronaut Jo Fowler (Halle Berry), astronaut Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) and the conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman (John Bradley) to become Earth’s defenders to put the Moon back in orbit and save Earth from its sixth extinction.
Roland Emmerich has never made a superhero/comic-book movie and reading his latest comments, he probably has no desire to make one. That being said, Moonfall is basically his take on a superhero movie, but the only difference is that none of the characters have super strength, super speed or the ability to fly. Whether he wants to admit or not, when you describe the movie to anyone, Moonfall comes across as a superhero movie. Is it any good? Well, that’s where things get a bit more interesting because when it’s all set in stone, Moonfall is a wacky, inconsistent and VERY silly movie. The characters really aren’t that great and its comedy timing is off. That said, this movie is insanely entertaining from beginning to end. It’s all over the place when it comes to a narrative and character stand point, but from an entertainment perspective, this is solid fun. This is a credit to how much fun Emmerich can throw at us, even if things feel a bit off putting or not as interesting as they appear.
Say what will about any of Roland Emmerich movie, but when it comes to his attention of scale and visual effects, that’s where things can’t me discounted. The sheer mass of scope of this movie is really quite great and demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible. Shots of the Moon, sequences of Earth being destroyed by debris from the Moon and all the explosions look and sound incredible. It’s a question why any studio would throw $150 million at any Roland Emmerich movie (in todays time), but it’s clear that all the money went to the specula effects and while it shows, it looks pretty great. Emmerich can deliver entertainment on any of his natural disaster flicks and Moonfall is no exception. This is the second time Roland Emmerich teamed up with cinematographer Robby Baumgartner (after working on Midway) and both found a way to make the Moon feel bigger than it actually is. This movie looks great and that’s something to walk away proud of.
Where the rest of the movie feels different is that the material and structure of this movie feels more sillier than it should and the actors take it a lot more seriously than they probably should. The first two acts of the movie feel more grounded and maybe a bit more realistic than the third act of the movie, which is the point of the movie where the silliness of the movie catapults itself to another level of pure ridiculousness and silliness. It’s kind of ridiculousness where you have to really suspend your disbelief and embrace the kind of movie that Moonfall really is. It manages to capture the over the top nature that Roland Emmerich is going for, but it might too hard for some people to get on board with.
The type of cast Moonfall has is pretty great, especially when you consider you have Oscar winners and actors that have appeared in comic-book films from the past. It’s not that Patrick Wilson or Halle Berry give bad performances, it’s more that their characters feel horrifically contrived and formulaic. Virtually, character comes across that way. Michael Peña and Donald Sutherland are absolutely wasted in this movie and don’t give the more anything interesting. The only actors that seemed to have the most screen and was arguably the most likable was John Bradley. He’s not the leading man you might expect, but his character did the best at leading this movie.
Moonfall is the type of movie that one should embrace the kind of movie it’s going for. It’s a lot more ridiculous than any of the promotional material indicates and the third act of the movie is the moment where the silliness becomes a little bit too much too endure. That said, you can’t help but smile while watching it.
My grade for Moonfall: C
Zane's take at the Cinema's 