Something to think about.

Rating: 7/10 (8 December 2009)

OK at the outset let me tell you that i'm not a great fan of Sci fi movies. I'm the kind of guy who finds series like Star Wars and Harry Potter utterly boring. Having said that i must say this movie impressed me all the more.
Although the movie was made on a shoe-string budget, it's technically perfect. The special effects are convincing and the acting though underplayed, is superb.
The cast of characters though not many is brilliantly chosen. Sam Rockwell(Sam Bell) has acted the part of the miner, whose very existence is questionable, to perfection. So does Robin Chalk, the guy who smells a rat. The unemotional voice of Kevin Spacey fits GERTY the robot like a glove. The use of smileys on its screen is exceptional, if not mildly depressing. It offers us a kind of window into into how our lives will be when robots are introduced en masse into our lives. Imagine a robot with a smiley on the screen in place of an actual smiling human, depressing, isn't it?
But the movie is significant as it deals with two technologies that have tremendous potential for use as well as misuse. More so because these two are on the verge of becoming science fact in the near future. One is human cloning and the other is fusion reactors running on Helium 3, an element that is very rare in the Earth's soil but is abundant on the moon. In fact there is currently a project called ITER that is building a fusion reactor. While human cloning faces ethical and moral hurdles and the very real prospect of being misused by corporations, Helium mines on the moon faces ones of the technical nature.
This movie is not for those who expect edge of the seat thrilling stuff or the muscular hero beating and blasting the bejesus out of aliens sort of stuff. It's the type of movie that provides you things to cogitate about. Ergo, it demands an intent an patient viewing.
Nevertheless, I rate it 7 as the first half an hour was kind of dull. :)