Disgraced astronaut Brian Harper isn’t crazy.
He knows what he saw in space 10 years ago: a mysterious, smoke-like swarm of, well—something—that crippled Brian’s space shuttle, killed fellow astronaut Alan Marcus and then disappeared into an apparent hole in the moon. But no one will believe him, especially after NASA covers the whole thing up and blames Alan’s death on Brian.
That was a decade ago—before the world discovered that the moon’s orbit is ominously decaying, putting it on a crash course with the Earth. Now, the world is starting to take notice to the ramblings of conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman, who believes that the moon may not be what it seems.
One thing is for sure: Something is happening on the moon. Or, maybe, in the moon. Something bad. And only Brian, K.C. and former astronaut-turned-NASA-executive Jocinda Fowl—along with a space shuttle pulled out of a museum—have any hope of solving the mystery and saving humanity
But the moon’s already quite close to Earth, so they don’t have much time to save their families as they flee tsunamis, gravity changes and falling bits of moon in order to survive. Thanks for not warning us, Neil Armstrong.
At its root, Moonfall is about family—a broken one, at that. Brian works desperately to get his son out of jail, who in turn strives tirelessly (with the help of his stepfather) to protect the rest of the family. Jocinda reconciles with her ex-husband, and K.C. has touching moments with his mother, who is succumbing to dementia.
Throughout the film, we see as family members work to protect and sacrifice for one another. Even though relationships may be strained, they rarely hesitate to put aside grievances to lovingly help one another. And that’s nice, as “love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). When it seems certain that the moon is about to flatten you into the pavement faster than you can say Majora’s Mask, spend your last moments loving your family.
The movie also reminds us of the importance of seeking out truth. Brian is the subject of ridicule for claiming that alien technology is behind the death of fellow astronaut Alan, but he sticks to his story because he knows it is true—and it is better to sacrifice our reputation and livelihood for the truth than to be well-liked and wealthy for peddling a lie.
And, of course, humanity’s fate hangs in the balance here, too. Apart from Brian, Jocinda and K.C.’s heroic, almost impossible efforts to avert a lunar apocalypse, everyone on the planet will likely perish.
Someone earnestly exclaims, “God help you!” That prompts someone else to say, “God help us all.”
As the story unfolds, we see that incredibly advanced artificial intelligence is at the heart of what’s happening with the moon.
[Spoiler Warning] The film explains that we once had human ancestors billions of years ago who were destroyed by the AI they had created. They constructed giant moon spaceships around white dwarf stars, but only our moon was sent out before the AI destroyed them all. Our moon arrived and “seeded Earth” with human DNA into the primordial soup in the water. This eventually evolved into humanity. Now, that ever-hunting AI has found the last human outpost and is determined to wipe it out.
Brian and K.C. both converse with an AI in a sort of transcendental white realm. The AI explains that it is only reflecting the projections within their thoughts and “uploading their conscience into the moon.” While they aren’t technically spiritual, the scenes have a very spiritual feel to them.
We glimpse a tabloid headline on a bulletin board that contains the phrase “gay aliens.”
Moonfall is a yet another doomsday movie by director Roland Emmerich—the same mayhem-minded guy behind Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow and 2012. If you’ve seen any of those movies, or if you have any idea of what kind of rampant destruction the moon crashing into the Earth might cause, you have a good idea of the violent content that Moonfall contains.
Many people die onscreen. One astronaut has his oxygen cut and chokes to death, and three others have their helmets and heads violently pierced through by the rogue AI. A mother and daughter are also killed by the AI. Explosions, eruptions, tsunamis, earthquakes and flying objects reign supreme. A helicopter full of people gets swallowed up by a tsunami.
Two men and a woman steal a car at gunpoint, and people are shot at multiple times, though no one is ever hit. The same trio tries to steal other resources at gunpoint as well, but they fail. A dramatic car chase, complete with gunfire and explosions, occurs, resulting in three people’s deaths.
Looting, rioting and violence overtake cities at the news of the moon’s imminent and unwelcome arrival. Rioters engage in a shootout with SWAT members, though no one is hit onscreen.
A bunker collapses on a group of people, and they are presumed dead. Someone suffocates from oxygen deprivation. Someone sacrifices himself in an explosion.
The f-word is spoken twice, and it is prominently graffitied on the side of a shuttle (prompting jokes more than once). The s-word is used seven times. God’s name is misused 10 times, and Jesus’ name is improperly used twice. Additionally, “h—” is used 11 times, and both “d–n” and “a–” are prominently used as well. “B–ch” is used once. Someone is called a “schmuck.”
Brian is seen with beer bottles in his room, and he drinks a beer while working on a car. A man smokes a joint while watching the news, and he is later referenced as “smoking a lot of weed.” Brian’s son, Sonny, is arrested for fleeing the police in a car while in possession of unspecified drugs. K.C. often takes multicolored prescription pills for his anxiety. The phrase “put that in your pipe and smoke it” is used.
K.C. breaks into an office to obtain information on the moon. He also embraces the mantra, “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission.”
Moonfall is a comedy. The only problem is that it’s not trying to be.
Yes, it has intended humor, but none of its jokes are funnier than the ridiculous premise, clunky dialogue and absurd action sequences the movie proudly displays. And don’t get me wrong—the CGI explosions are well done, and the disaster scenes are fun to watch—albeit in the same perverse way that director Roland Emmerich is known for. And for a movie that isn’t intending to be a satire of the doomsday genre, that’s not a good thing.
There’s already a necessary suspension of disbelief when you make the moon your primary antagonist. So really, like many doomsday movies, this is a story where you watch for the destruction and explosions and don’t question where the plot takes you: Look at how cool it is when the moon fragment tears off the top of that mountain; don’t think about how this is all happening because alien AI nano-bees are angry at organic life.
But all absurdity aside, Moonfall does have noble intentions. It reminds us that family is important, and it builds on the theme through loving sacrifice—the sacrifice of reputation, honor and even our lives. It’s a chaotic mad dash in order to survive, but that shouldn’t prevent us from protecting those we care for and love.
The epitome of this concept is found in Brian. Not only have his wife and son left him, and not only does he live in disgraced financial ruin due to NASA’s meddling—the entire world has rejected him as just some crazy astronaut who made a pathetic lie about aliens in order to escape responsibility for fellow astronaut Alan’s death. And he’s heard it for so long that even Brian himself begins to believe that Alan’s death was his fault.
Despite all of that, when NASA asks for his help, Brian answers the call. Despite the world rejecting him, Brian chooses to try and save it. Even despite the fact that he hardly even gets an apology when everyone realizes he was right, Brian leads the mission. That takes strength, love and a strong sense of right and wrong.
That’s good stuff. What’s not so good in this PG-13 disaster flick is its language. Just as fragments of lunar rock pelt the Earth, so audiences are pelted with a lot of profanity. Worldview-wise, we also get a heaping dose of evolution fused with humanism here, complete with a cosmic creation story of sorts that has nothing to do with God.
And those concerns aren’t quite as laughable as the unintended humor that permeates Moonfall’s script.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
