Roland Emmerich, who specialized in science fiction disaster movies like Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, has returned to his roots with this clunky end-of-the world spectacle. Moonfall Torrent film stars Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, and John Bradley.
The story revolves around a group of scientists trying to uncover secrets from the government. Donald Sutherland makes a cameo as a Deep Throat.
Cast
Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, and Michael Pena star in the new sci-fi thriller about a celestial body crashing into Earth. It’s the latest film from Roland Emmerich, who became a popcorn-movie king with his disaster movies like 2012 and The Day After Tomorrow. But the genre has largely fallen out of fashion, as audiences have instead opted for superhero spectacles.
Emmerich seems to understand this, and he doesn’t try to hide his intent with the cliche dialogue and uninspired plot. Each scene is short on story and exposition, and is instead loaded with frenetic action sequences.
The film is a throwback to a time when disaster movies were a fashionable blockbuster genre. But while it does contain some impressive special effects, it’s ultimately a forgettable flick. It’s worth a look, but only for fans of the genre and of Emmerich’s work. On review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 35% rating.
Reviews
As dark as this movie gets (especially the scenes involving the exploding spacecraft) it never gets so muddy that fine details, such as facial features or costuming, suffer. Likewise, the CGI malevolent techno-swarm of doom that descends upon Earth and its lone surviving inhabitants is impressively rendered without ever resembling the kind of weightless digital effects that plague so many sci-fi disaster movies.
This movie was made by Roland Emmerich, the sage of Moonfall Torrent movies who gave us Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and 2012 in quick succession. He’s become a master at creating rampant destruction, and Moonfall Torrent is no exception. It’s not the worst film in his career, but it certainly isn’t one of the best. Still, it’s unapologetically dumb, excessive, and entertaining. And for that, it’s definitely worth watching. Just don’t expect much else. You’ll be glad you did.
Streaming
In a time when moviegoers are spoiled for choice when it comes to new blockbusters, Roland Emmerich’s latest sci-fi disaster film is one of the movies worth checking out this weekend. It’s called Moonfall, and it delivers exactly what it promises on the tin: the moon is falling.
After a mysterious force knocks the moon out of its orbit and sends it on a collision course with Earth, a disgraced astronaut and his former partner must team up with a conspiracy theorist to save humanity from extinction. The 2022 film stars Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson, and is co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich.
Conclusion:
Whether Moonfall is good or bad will mostly depend on your tolerance for B-movie cheese, but it’s definitely an entertaining film. In a review on YouTube, writer and occasional film critic penguinz0 calls it “the goofiest movie film ever made,” calling it a “stinky masterpiece.” And while it may not be the best movie of the year, it’s still worth watching.
