Moon

Stars: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey (voice)

Director: Duncan Jones

A one-idea film, this follows (some way behind) in the footsteps of Silent Running. On a one-man, three-year mission on the Moon, Sam (Rockwell) finds his mind wandering and his health deteriorating, despite the attentions of his computerised companion Gerty (Spacey). An accident outside his space station leaves Sam seriously incapacitated.

He wakes up to find himself in the infirmary with no power in his legs, tended by an over-solicitous Gerty. Frustrated by instructions to restrict him to the station, Sam fakes a repair for which Gerty will have to release him, and ventures on to the Moon's surface. There he finds a crashed vehicle with the original Sam inside.

Back at the station, the 'new' Sam and an increasingly sick 'old' Sam must band together to figure out what's going on.

A bit slow, the film, though original in concept, soon runs out of ideas once the jig is up. Boredom lurks in the background, as the director tries - and fails - to think of ways to spice up the narrative. Rockwell is fine as the two (or is it three?) Sams, while Spacey's soothing tones keep you guessing as to whether Gerty is up to the same kind of tricks as Hal in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

David Quinlan

USA 2009. UK Distributor: Sony (Columbia). Colour by deluxe.
97 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 1, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 0, Swearing 2.

Review date: 11 Jul 2009