Sam Rockwell + Duncan Jones = One of the most important films Sci-Fi Films of the modern era

Rating: 7/10 (18 January 2018)

If you need an introduction to the greatness of Sam Rockwell, watch Moon. Do you love Sci-Fi and need a new era of a great Sci-Fi to watch? Watch Moon. Want to know how to construct a film on a shoestring budget, but still make a modern masterpiece? Watch Moon.
Okay, masterpiece is a bit excessive. However, Moon is a surprisingly good and important film. And I don't mean anything bad by that, I just mean it's essentially one actor, by himself, for an hour and forty minutes. That can get extremely old if it's not done right or if it's not the right actor. Good for Duncan Jones he chose Sam Rockwell.
The plot is nothing we've never seen before, but it rides a nice line for a while and takes a nice turn into the second act on a different storyline. It's a great showcase for Sam Rockwell's abilities and Duncan Jones, in his directorial debut (he also directed Source Code, which I liked), sets the stage for Sci-Fi movies for generations to come. I really mean that. You don't have to have the over-the-top budget or star or effects or bloated, fat-cat, studio executives making all the wrong calls. All you need is a baseline budget, a story and an actor and director that share the same vision. That's the great thing about the Sci-Fi genre, anything you can imagine you can do and that just exists in that world because it's unknown.
One thing I didn't love about the film, SPOILERS FOR A NINE YEAR OLD FILM, the stakes were always being raised, but kind of like The Martian, there was never this fever pitch moment that really accentuated the entire second act. Plus, at the end, Gerty just agrees to help Sam go? How? He's a robot controlled by the Lunar Corporation. At times there wasn't enough struggle or grit built into the story, some very convenient breaks in there. They could have accentuated the countdown clock more and had Gerty interfere more, since he's the only real hurdle for the healthy Sam in this film, but there didn't have that.
Moon wasn't my favorite movie I've ever seen, but I think it's a very important movie for the Sci-Fi genre and looking back on this in twenty or thirty years, we will see the importance and appreciation for a film like this. Rotten Tomatoes says, "Boosted by Sam Rockwell's intense performance, Moon is a compelling work of science-fiction, and a promising debut from director Duncan Jones." I agree. Again, the ratings may be a little high for me personally, but it's right in the sweet spot.