Disaster movies were a big thing in the '90s and the early 2000s, but aren't as common anymore. For good measure, we may add - the world seems to have grown past these formulaic, repetitive films. Hell,
a review on fullhyd.com echoed this very sentiment over a decade ago. More recently, the apocalyptic black comedy film "Don't Look Up" served some well-deserved satirical commentary on end-of-the-world scenarios.
So yes, we feel Moonfall doesn't belong in 2022, but...
...but, Director Roland Emmerich has served multiple hit films on the same topic - the aforementioned The Day After Tomorrow, and the two Independence Day films - that dished out cheesy entertainment with large, showy, practical effects. These movies took their silliness very seriously, and coupled with iconic imagery and fantastic characters, made the overall experience more than the sum of the parts. We don't blame him for trying to recapture the magic of his previous hits, but his tried and tested formula doesn't work anymore, especially without the unique, striking visuals that are now commonplace due to the technological advances in CGI.
...but, the Moon is going to crash upon us! Doesn't this excite you? Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) is given one chance to salvage his dishonorable discharge from NASA, with his old crewmate Jocinda Fowler (Halle Berry), now the acting director and his mission partner. There's even a conspiracy theorist doctor thrown in - K C Houseman (John Bradley) is going to be finally taken seriously. And there's plenty of cool stuff, too - structures being crushed by gravity, huge floods, nukes, EMPs, the works.
...but it tries to be entertaining, at least. There are some moments where you genuinely start to root for this odd trio, and the silliness they find themselves in - however, things are quickly interrupted rudely each time by yet another side-plot of uninteresting, thinly-fleshed-out characters. There are two divorces in the movie, and neither is interesting from a dramatic point of view. And there's a young adult son (Charlie Plummer) who looks like he is stuck and cannot leave (ironic, we know). The viewer practically starts yearning for something over-the-top, something cheesy and ludicrous enough to make the whole thing interesting.
...but, the film features a cast boasting of the likes of Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson (though both look uninterested), with some well-needed comic respite from John Bradley (actually funny at times, and easily the best performer). The supporting cast is capable, too, but the script doesn't let anyone do much. The original soundtrack by Thomas Wander and Harald Kloser is not loud or annoying, but it feels similar to that in other space-based sci-fi features - the one song we remembered was by Creedence Clearwater Revival, and not by the duo that composed the rest of the music.
...but, it would probably not belong to any other decade. Simply put, Moonfall isn't interesting enough. The silly science piles on, and the script doubles down on its own nonsense, and we get something "that could have been, if only they did this (insert your own complaint) one thing right".
No ifs, no buts, Moonfall is closer to a disaster than a disaster-movie.