Apple Studios’ Fly Me to the Moon is a creative take on the idea of the moon landing being staged. The film sees Greg Berlanti in the director’s chair after Jason Bateman pulled out just three months after the film’s announcement. It is Berlanti’s first movie since Love Simon‘s 2018 release, but the director-producer has been racking up executive producer credits on countless TV shows in the meantime.
The movie is phenomenally captivating at its best, yet starkly mediocre at its worst. The narrative builds an authentically endearing connection between the two protagonists played by Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson. Berlanti intelligently relies on the mesmerizing acting of his experienced cast including the aforementioned stars, Ray Romano, and Woody Harrelson. There are a few scenes that expertly orchestrate fitting music, weighty dialogue, immersive sets, and expressive shots to create a profound experience. In one standout scene, Scarlett Johansson’s character shares a poignant moment with Ray Romano’s, that is executed with exceptional skill. The scene features touching vulnerability from Ray Romano’s character in a small amount of words. Set against the backdrop of a beautifully illuminated space center, the setting symbolizes something greater than any individual. In this moment, Scarlett Johansson’s character is clearly seeing a new perspective and is forced to begin questioning her current understanding of the people around her. In moments like these, Fly Me to the Moon is emblematic of a modern classic.
Regrettably, the next scene is one of Tatum’s character engaging in a comical chase in pursuit of a cat. Unserious moments like these repeatedly separate the deeply moving sequences throughout the film. The purpose is clearly to alleviate some of the heavy themes, but unfortunately, it fails more often than it works. Most of the time, it is nothing more than a jolting tonal shift, and in a few instances, these lighthearted moments even contradict the characters’ previously established personas. The majority of the effective comedy comes from Jim Rash’s character, who is introduced early on as an eccentric personality.
The film combines realism with fake additives in a clever way. I sincerely enjoyed the originality of the film’s concept. The staged moon landing theory has been around forever, but the film tackles it in a unique, but still mostly believable manner. The location and costume design do a good job of transporting the audience to the sixties, despite the updated dialogue. There are multiple references to the Apollo mission and fun facts thrown in that actually work really well. Things like most of the NASA engineers being in their twenties, and NASA partnering with companies like Kellogg’s are aptly pointed out throughout the film.
Led by the imposing acting of Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, the characters are strikingly interesting. As they were being introduced, it started to seem like every character would be some sort of exaggerated cliche, but that turned out to be far from the truth. The two protagonists have enough complexity, depth, and development to overcome their formulaic introductions. The only character who remains boxed in to their trope is Jim Rash’s amusing depiction of an artsy director, which works for his comedic style. Scarlett Johansson manages to take a character who should be extremely unlikable and somehow mold her into a complicatedly relatable individual. Due to her ability to so subtly depict emotion, Johansson’s character is constantly evolving over the course of the entire movie, allowing for dramatic development that still feels natural. Channing Tatum delivers a great performance as well, but his character is written with much more compelling depth already built in.
Fly Me to the Moon is a well-crafted original picture in a time where sequels and remakes have been dominating the industry. With flashes of brilliance, the film sadly cannot sustain its mastery, as uninspired attempts at levity break up the heavy hitting moments it so carefully builds. Nevertheless, Fly Me to the Moon is a worthwhile watch for its glimmering scenes of greatness.
7/10
