In her Moonfall review Lisa Johnson Mandell reveals the highest praise she can give Roland Emmerich’s latest sci-fi thriller moonshot.

Well at least Moonfall is ambitious. The latest sci-fi space thriller from Roland Emmerich is jam packed with zooming spaceships, crumbling cities, fiery explosions, falling stars and personal drama.

Those who have been starved for this sort of thing for the past two years will definitely get their fill and then some. But the more discerning theater goer will doubtless wonder, “I braved going back to the theater for this?”

I can’t decide if it’s a tribute, or a rip-off, borrowing from almost every sci-fi space movie that came before, especially some of Emmerich’s own, including Independence Day, Independence Day: Resurgence, 2012 and The Day After Tomorrow.

Moonfall starts out borrowing from Gravity, where two astronauts are outside their space craft attempting repairs, when an atmospheric disruption occurs and one of the astronauts is hurled out into space.

Harper (Patrick Wilson), the survivor who tried and failed to save his partner, is wracked with guilt because he couldn’t hold on. Crew member Fowler (Halle Berry) is unconscious inside the space craft while all this is going on.

Flash forward to today, and she is a stone-faced NASA bigwig, while Harper is washed up as an astronaut, husband, father and human being.

Suddenly the earth falls out of orbit and threatens to break apart, in turn, breaking apart the earth. Space geek KC Houseman (John Bradley — Samwell Tarly of Game of Thrones ) notices before NASA does, but can’t get their attention…sound familiar?

After much frantic pivoting and juggling of exes and parents and kids and corrupt government officials trying to save their own skin, of course it comes down to Harper, Fowler and Houseman trying to save life as we know it, by setting off in a dubious space craft to rectify what’s wrong with the moon.

The special effects are mind boggling and eye popping (but not in a good way) and often appear to be hastily constructed. You could say the same thing for the ridiculous and needlessly complicated plot.

Certainly it takes a herculean effort just to finish and launch a movie these days, especially one with such astronomical intentions. So I’d like to finish on the highest note I can: Moonfall was released.

Rated PG-13

2 Hours 4 Minutes

If, after reading this Moonfall review you still want to see it, launch yourself toward Fandango for times and tickets

In her Moonfall review Lisa Johnson Mandell reveals the highest praise she can give Roland Emmerich’s latest sci-fi thriller moonshot.