Moon is the first major film by the son of David Bowie, Duncan Jones (born Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones) and it ticks a lot of the boxes. It’s got a great concept, great acting by Sam Rockwell, looks suitably grotty to be actually located on the moon and most of all, features good science.

The story revolves around a lone individual, Sam Bell (Rockwell) who is nearing the end of a three-year stint as the sole proprietor of a mining establishment on the Earth’s Moon. He and his machines are mining Helium-3, which is used back on earth to help solve the energy crisis. His slowly unraveling mental state is what drives the movie to its climax.

The film has a lower budget look, which the director wisely unitizes to his gain by focusing on the human element of the story. The few special effects that are used on-screen buttress the story not dominate it. This film is science fiction at its finest and deserves to find a large audience, the chances of that are however slim but not if enough fans of intelligent film get off the couch and into the theatre.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/SonyPicturesAUS

With the late attachment of Duncan Jones as director, things looked good. Jones’ previous film, Moon, showed a sure hand at the helm and spoke well of the potential for a story with depth. The open book nature of the fantasy genre also informed a world of vast possibilities. In final results, this did not quite pan out.

Self admitting to absolutely no knowledge of the video game, the movie’s lack of ability to establish a believably mythology was a real stumbling block for me. It wasn’t helped by a general vocal mannerism that made almost all of the dialogue difficult to hear and understand. In the fantasy world the film lives in, the necessary CGI was also quite disappointing.

Seeing the film on an opening night time slot was a definite plus as the audience (seemingly made up of a large percentage of gamers) seemed to really enjoy themselves and this communal feeling was an infectious addition. Seen in isolation though Warcraft is a confusing and hard to follow mess.

Rob Hudson
www.warcraftmovie.com.au