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177 of 187 people found the following review helpful.
Spoiler-free review — A fun and unexpected little sci-fi surprise
By buru buru piggu
It was easy to dismiss Moon as a 2001: A Space Odyssey clone based on the trailers, claustrophobic space station setting and the HAL 9000-like robot assistant (GERTY). It is a surprisingly fun space mystery and I’m glad I was wrong. The film opens with a commercial from Lunar Industries, promising a safe, dependable, and clean energy source from the moon. Then it cuts right to the lunar surface where astronaut/miner Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is preparing a cargo of helium for launch back to Earth.With 2 weeks left of his contract, he is more than ready to go home. Living in isolation on the dark side of the moon for the past 3 years, with the satellite dish down, his only link with Earth are company transmissions, delayed TV feeds of sporting events, and the occasional pre-recorded video relay from his wife. With not another living soul on the moon, Sam occupies himself by talking to his plants, carving a miniature model of his town, and talking to GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey). Sam thinks he’s going insane from the psychological stress of isolation and starts seeing things. He scalds his hand on boiling water and later causes a serious crash with his rover, knocking out one of the giant combine harvesters. This is where the real mystery begins, as Sam discovers that he is not alone. I won’t spoil the surprise, but what follows is an entertaining and suspenseful experience.GERTY’s monotone diction, calm demeanor, and design are unmistakably inspired by HAL 9000, a perhaps deliberate decision by the filmmakers to heighten the sense of mystery and play on our preconceived notions of the sci-fi genre built up by other films. He also has a camera “eye” like HAL, and we’ve also seen the maniacal ship’s AI Otto from Wall-E. We don’t know if GERTY’s pleasantly warm voice and smiley face LCD display means he is genuinely helpful or if he’s concealing a secret agenda. Director Duncan Jones is using our expectations against us, and this is part of the fun of unraveling the drama of Moon.The film draws influences from other films like Blade Runner, Aliens, and of course, 2001 (whose vision of the future is clean and white interiors with bright lights) and Silent Running. With a 90 min runtime, the film is short. Made on a tiny budget (by today’s standards) of $5 million, it is carried by the remarkable performance of Rockwell whose shows many sides of the Sam character. Interiors are very convincingly designed, with some lunar surface shots and CG that are perhaps a bit too heavy on lens flare. Except one instance of backal nudity (unfortunately, it’s from Rockwell and not the lovely Dominique McElligott), a scene of nasty vomiting and a fist-fight, nothing too graphic is shown. The ending could’ve used maybe 3-5 minutes more of exposition as it did feel a bit rushed, but don’t let me dissuade you from watching this wonderful film. A totally worthwhile way to spend movie night. 4.5/5

92 of 105 people found the following review helpful.
“Are We Alone in the Universe?”
By Sniff Code
If you are fortunate enough to live in a city where this movie is playing, I highly advise that you go see it. Despite falling under the category of science-fiction, Moon is not a movie where you have to be a science-fiction buff to appreciate its many virtues. In fact, it might be more accurate to describe Moon as a drama. The drama in this case is to be found within oneself, as Moon is pretty much a one man show.The movie begins with a commercial for Lunar Industries, a company that has found alternative energy sources on the moon. True to the nature of any corporation, costs are apparently kept to a minimum by having only a single human being on their moon base to oversee the extraction of Helium 3 — the precious alternative energy source. Consequently, Sam Bell is that sole employee who is serving out his 3 year contract on the moon. Stationed with him on this moon base is a computer with an emoticon personality named Gherty 3000. Other than, he has only himself for company. In the final stretch of his contract Sam slips into despair and falls prey to his own hallucinations. Moon is a survival story. The drama, however, is not in Sam’s fight for physical survival or even mental survival. His battle is an emotional one. His memories of earth and loved ones waiting for him are the raw materials for his survival — but may also be the wellsprings for his rapid slip into despair.Artistically, Moon pays its greatest homage to Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Gherty 3000 is an obvious nod to the Hal 9000 in both its name and in the ominous voice that is provided by Kevin Spacey. Even the design of the computer interface and its typography is a revival of Kubrick’s vision of the Discovery One ship. Unlike 2001, which remained mostly silent and stoic throughout, Moon is full of emotional inflections that curve our perception of both Sam and Gherty. Isolation has its quirky side with Moon. Space movies often evoke the question, “Are we alone in this universe?” Moon truncates that question to this: “Are we alone?”

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful.
A Surprisingly Well-Constructed Piece of Indie Filmmaking
By ONENEO
Once in a while, and more frequently in this genre than most others it seems; a film comes along with a very modest budget (in this case $5M), a limited cast, and a whole lot of heart. In the case of Moon, director Duncan Jones continues on in the tradition of works like Danny Boyle’s Sunshine or perhaps even more appropriately, Neil Blomkamp’s District 9. However, its inclusion in the oft-suspect category of independent science fiction entertainment is by no means synonymous with cheesy rubber masks, shoddy sets, or below par CGI; in fact quite contraire. Moon manages to accomplish a surprising deal of well-written plot structure and melds it with consistent, appropriate and believable visuals (whether special effect shots or otherwise). Amidst the current trend of bloated CG-overloaded “blockbusters” that attempt to make up for their lack of substance with flashy visuals, Moon is a refreshing diversion to say the least.The tale centers on Sam Bell, the only man living on the moon in an undisclosed future date (but based on the technology, certainly the foreseeable future), who is nearing the conclusion of a three-year contract to work for Lunar Industries.As the lone employee stationed at their lunar facility, Sam’s primary job responsibility is to harvest and periodically ship (via rocket) to Earth supplies of helium-3; the clean and apparently extremely abundant fuel source used by future society.In addition to the loneliness Sam experiences in complete isolation, there apparently is no direct communication link available between the lunar station and Earth. Fortunately he does experience a good deal of daily interaction with GERTY; an artificially intelligent computer/ robot that tends to his daily needs (voiced brilliantly by Kevin Spacey).While the viewer is treated to a heartfelt demonstration of Sam’s almost singular desire to complete his contract and return to Earth to be with his wife Tess and their infant daughter Eve, things start to get very interesting when with only two weeks to go, he gets into a rover accident at one of the mechanical harvesters and is rendered unconscious.To continue on with the plot summation would not only provide critical spoilers (something I despise personally and make a practice of avoiding in my critiques) but it would also jeopardize some of the most spectacular moments of the prose whereby the viewer, through the bewilderment of the lead character, discovers that all is not as it initially appears.What is revealed as the layers of mystery are rolled back like the skin of so many proverbial onions is actually a subliminally sad account of the cruelty of the human mind and the frailty of the human body. And while there is undeniable hope to be found in the tale’s conclusion, it comes with the bittersweet lacing of the would ifs, could ifs and what-nows that are left for the viewer to ponder once the credits roll. This fact alone is nearly a guarantee that the film will continue popping up in your thoughts for days, maybe even weeks after viewing. In fact I’m thoroughly convinced that this is one of those rare pieces that, like a fine wine, requires a lengthy period of digestion (processing) to fully appreciate.Sam Rockwell’s performance of lead character Sam Bell is remarkable upon first impression and perhaps even more so upon examination of the unique capture process in the film’s “making of” documentaries.Speaking of, the single disc DVD boasts a surprisingly robust extra-feature set including two full-length commentary tracks (one with Writer/Director Duncan Jones, Director of Photography Gary Shaw, Concept Designer Gavin Rothery and Production Designer Tony Noble and the second with Writer/Director Duncan Jones again and Producer Stuart Fenegan), “Whistle” a Short Film by Duncan Jones, The Making of Moon, Creating the Visual Effects, Science Center Q&A with Director Duncan Jones, a Filmmaker’s Q&A at the Sundance Film Festival, and like a whole lot of Sony trailers.About the biggest complaint I’ve encountered surrounding the project would have to be gripes that the prose isn’t action-packed, particularly comedic, or even that the pacing is a bit tedious. While I cannot dispute all such claims, I can assure that the cleverness of the script is solid enough to command even the most restless viewer’s curiosity. Coming in at a runtime of 97-minutes, there is no fluff or unnecessary plotting to cloud the potency of the tale.In all it is very easy to recommend this piece of independent science fiction as it represents the culmination of all that is wrong with big budget filmmaking these days by contrast. The fact that Sony Classics was wise enough to recognize this reality is hopeful of things to come in and of itself. Duncan Jones deserves credit on having written and directed a wonderfully entertaining motion picture that will, hopefully be only the first of many such future developments.

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Moon (2009) – IMDb
Sam Bell has a three year contract to work for Lunar Industries. For the contract’s entire duration, he is the sole employee based at their lunar station. His primary …

NASA – Moon
World Book Article on Moon … Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite and the only astronomical body other than Earth ever visited by human beings.

Moon – definition of Moon by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus …
Moon (m n), Sun Myung Born 1920. Korean-born American religious leader and founder of the Unification Church (1954). He was found guilty in 1982 of conspiracy to …

The Moon l Phases, Orbit and distance from the Earth
The Moon has been known since prehistoric times. It is the second brightest object in the sky after the Sun. Learn facts and figures.

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The Moon has fascinated mankind throughout the ages. By simply viewing with the naked eye, one can discern two major types of terrain: relatively bright highlands and …

Moon – Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Moon is what people generally say when talking about Earth’s satellite. (Other planets also have moons or “natural satellites.”) The moon can be seen from Earth.

Moon (film) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Moon is a 2009 British science fiction drama film directed by Duncan Jones. The film is about Sam Bell (played by Sam Rockwell), a man who experiences a personal …

Google Moon
About Google Moon. View in 3D, with Moon in Google Earth: Link to this page

Moon | Define Moon at Dictionary.com
noun 1. the earth’s natural satellite, orbiting the earth at a mean distance of 238,857 miles (384,393 km) and having a diameter of 2160 miles (3476 km). 2. this body …