Fly Me To The Moon (2024) Movie Review.

Synopsis:Fly ME to the Moon is the story of two opposites who fall in love. Sparks fly between a marketing executive and a NASA official when preparations for the Apollo 11 moon landing are being makes.

The setting is 1969. Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) serves as the director at NASA, overseeing the Apollo 11 mission, which aims to send three astronauts to the Moon. Following the tragic failure of the Apollo 1 mission, resulting in the loss of three astronauts, Cole is determined to ensure the success of Apollo 11. The U.S. government, keen on maintaining its lead in the space race against Russia and generating excitement among the public, appoints Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson), a presidential aide, to enlist the expertise of marketing specialist Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson). Kelly, with a somewhat checkered past, agrees to assist after Moe promises to clear her record in exchange for her services. She arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where she meets Cole. Despite their initial disagreements over strategies, a strong connection begins to develop between them. However, complications arise when the controversial idea of staging a fake Moon landing is proposed.

Star Cast: Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson

Director: Greg Berlanti

Review:

Bill Kirstein and Keenan Flynn’s story is novel. We have seen several films on the Apollo 11 mission, but this film sees the whole thing from a different light and also how the operation was marketed to the public. The film’s screenplay is immersive although the writing faces roadblocks in between. The dialogues are conversational and a few of them are witty. And the VFX is top-class.

Greg Berlanti’s direction is smooth. He keeps the narrative light and peppers it with a lot of funny and sweet scenes. The characters are well fleshed out and the whole ‘opposites attract’ bit works well for the protagonists. What also works in the favour of the film is the setting. To see a marketing wizard in the late 60s promoting the idea of a moon mission is fascinating. Moreover, the fake Moon landing track, of course, takes the cake.

On the flip-side, the film drops in between and a few scenes don’t really involve the viewers. Also, this is a film devoid of thrills or action and hence, the lighthearted approach sometimes also becomes too much. This also means that the film is meant only for niche viewers and not for the regular Hollywood audience in India. Thankfully, the film picks up well in the end. The last 15 minutes are the best part of the enterprise.

Performances:

Scarlett Johansson adds a lot of star value to the film. As expected, she looks stunning and delivers a terrific performance. Channing Tatum, too, puts his best foot forward and gets his act right. His hairstyle in some scenes, however, is an eyesore. Woody Harrelson is entertaining. Jim Rash (Lance Vespertine) brings the house down. Ray Romano (Henry Smalls) is adorable.

On the whole, FLY ME TO THE MOON embellished with fine performances by Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum is enjoyable, family friendly, nostalgic, very well directed and produced with some good laughs. Though the film offers an entertaining blend of romance and comedy against the backdrop of the historical moon landing, it appears to be not the conventional Hollywood entertainer. It was entertaining and easy to watch.

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