Movie Review #4 - "Apollo 18"

Movie Review #4 - "Apollo 18"

First before I start my review, I really love the idea of space and space travel.  When I was a small child, I wanted so badly to be an astronaut.  I love the idea of space travel.  Chartering the unknown seemed like such a fantasy.

Now, I have a niece that works for NASA.  I have been fortunate enough to see some really cool things ... Like the simulator for docking and moving the shuttle arm on the now defunct space shuttle ... Very cool stuff.

I love good movies in space ... "Apollo 13" ... "Serenity" ... "Star Trek" ... "Star Wars" ... "Titan A.E" ... just to name a view ...

So, once again ... cruising Netflix for a movie to watch ... and .. "Bam" ... "Apollo 18"

Benny's Rating:  7 / 10 Tabasco Peppers

On IMDB:  "Apollo 18"

Plot Synopsis:  The U.S. Government has hid the "final" mission to the moon.  The Department of Defense sets up a classified mission to the moon to place detectors in case of a Russian attack.  So ... The journey begins ... The crew flies to the moon like we saw the previous 17 times, except this one was not public.  They land on the moon and set up the detectors. 

When they are exploring, they come upon a Russian spacecraft on the moon ... Then, it begins with the rock collection coming to life, finding a dead Cosmonaut, and eventually everyone dies by the "rock disease".

Acting: Most people are going to hate the acting to be honest.   However, I was completely engaged in the story.  I even stopped playing games on my Nexus Tablet to watch.  The lead actors, Warren Christie as "Ben" ("the main story teller), and Lloyd Owen as "Nate" make the story somewhat believable.  The rest of the characters, even the orbiter pilot, were flat and really undeveloped.

Screenplay:  The premise of the screenplay is really interesting.  The dialog seems appropriate for the story.  However, the "moon rocks" becoming alive.  Really?  That's the best you've got?  That was the big let down.  The rocks eventually turn into these space creatures that really scared the crap out of me.

Cinematography:  Visually stunning.  I really enjoying the shots used for emphasis.  Tight shots of the characters when they were frightened or tense.  Wide shots to show the expansive of space.  The flashbacks to the 1960s in the old Kodak 8mm reels ... Nicely done.

Director:  Gonzalo López-Gallego does an outstanding job here.  I really like the flashbacks shots and the overall feel to the picture.   I really liked how it started out like a typical "spy" movie then turned on a dime to a horror film.  Great work.

Overall Recommendations:  If you are on Netflix and are looking for a decently suspenseful film, I would recommend it.  If you are looking for horror gore and seat of your pants adrenaline rushes, then you will probably be disappointed ... I liked it and hope you do as well.