Heart breaking, thought provoking and cleverer than the Mensa chess club, Moon crash lands onto Blu-ray with enough cinematic clout to put a crater in your low-budget sci-fi expectations.
Created with a meagre budget of $5 million, Moon proves there’s more value in smart storytelling than glittering effects. That’s not to say Moon doesn’t do Blu-ray’s resolution justice, it does, but its judicious use of gritty effects suit the melancholy pace, and lonesome subject matter.
Sam Rockwell stars as Sam Bell, an lone astronaut working on a lunar mining base. It’s a tough existence up there, with only a robotic assistant named GERTY for company. Even worse, GERTY has Kevin Spacey’s voice, and cheery demeanour.
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As the story progresses, Sam’s existence becomes steadily more strange. There’s plenty of introverted pondering, and a fair slug of misery, topped off with a dose of psychosis when Sam discovers his own body in the wreckage of a lunar buggy.
The story, which we won’t ruin for you, is nothing short of fantastic, paying homage to classics 2001 and Blade Runner. It deserves a place with the sci-fi greats, and Blu-ray visuals really are the only way to experience it.
Along with the film there are a pair of commentaries from director and son of David Bowie, Duncan Jones, and the Moon production crew. There’s also special effects documentaries, Q&As, and “Whistle”, a short film by Duncan Jones. As usual though, they’re in dowdy standard definition.
There is a heart-quickenning option for BD-Live on the main Moon menu too, but clicking it reveals a disappointing offering in the shape of Sony Pictures’ standard Live service.
Sure, you can download HD trailers and gawp at upcoming Sony Pictures flicks, but there’s no Moon-centric material here, which is a real shame.
We’re not completely disheartened though. It’s the main feature which makes the Moon Blu-ray so special. It’s a HD spectacle your owe your eyes, packed with “practical effects” (that’s model shots and real effects to laymen) that’re as dazzling as they are realistic.
That’s not to say Moon lacks CGI, there’s plenty of it, but it’s done with such care that it’s indistinguishable from the real shots around it. Moon feels grainy, grubby, and realistic. This isn’t the slick sci-fi you’re used to, it’s much, much better.
