Curiouser and curiouser, though this might be familiar territory for sci-fi buffs

Rating: 7/10 (7 February 2010)

Moon (2009)
At first this will seem like a poor man's 2001: A Space Odyssey, then with a touch of the American Solaris thrown in. But it's grittier, and has an everyman quality rather than an ethereal one, and so it makes you sympathetic as well as curious.
Curiosity is a big part of this kind of movie, where you are on the moon (literally) and don't know quite why, or how it works, or how it is that a single person (Sam Rockwell) could be operating this sprawling operation (one of many implausibilities you just overlook). The HAL-like robot (with the voice of Kevin Spacey, no pun there, I suppose) is made less sinister and cuter, for sure (and dirtier, a nice touch) but his role takes on some nice twists later, so in a way, there are two characters. Or maybe three, or four, depending how you look at it--I'll not give that away.
None of this is flawless. If the everyday qualities make you comfortable with the lead character, they also make the tension and bizarreness less intense. There are moments when I think we should be just blown away, and yet (maybe because we've seen this in other movies too often) we are just made to perk up a little. The movie is, in fact, interesting, and it's not overlong, and so it does succeed. It just doesn't find the beauty, or sci-fi wonder, or human tragedy, of a great movie, whatever that might be. Maybe some people will discover some ideas about life and identity spelled out here for the first time, and in that case this could be a completely memorable, even meaningful experience. I hope so.
Otherwise, it's still a fun, well made, different experience. And Rockwell, in the lead role(s), lets it all hang out. Impressive acting.