Fly Me to the Moon
Summary
tight - propel , stylishly cut , and packed to the brim with nostalgia for a vital import in American history , Greg Berlanti’sFly Me to the Moonhas a lot on its mind . In many ways , it finger like the classic sort of pic Hollywood is wary of making these days , though I really go for that this Space Race rom - com changes studio ' minds . Fly Me to the Moonis far from a perfect motion picture , but for two hours and 12 min , it take me on a journeying I thoroughly enjoyed .
Cast
free betweenthe exalt antics ofDespicable Me 4and disaster flickTwisters , it might seem like the moving picture is out of place . However , with the 55th day of remembrance of the Apollo 11 launch on July 16 , now is actually thebest time forFly Me to the Moon . The main throughline is unproblematic : Launch managing director Cole Davis ( Channing Tatum ) is fiercely determined to get the astronauts up to the moon safely , particularly after the Apollo 1 tragedy . While he ’s focused on that , marketing sensation Kelly Jones ( Scarlett Johansson ) is add in to sell America on the lunar month .
Fly Me To The Moon Is Several Movies At Once
A rom-com, a period comedy, and an alternate history…
The push - and - commit between Cole and Kelly is the foundation ofFly Me to the Moon ’s biggest stories : The actual hint - up to the Apollo 11 mission and the opposites - attract romance between honest NASA loyalist Cole and Kelly , who can whirl anything into a compelling pitch thanks to some loose lesson . As written by Rose Gilroy ( with a narration from Keenan Flynn and Bill Kirstein ) , both quality go beyond simple archetypes , and their clashing personality only make their stretch out relationship even more compelling . It help that Johansson and Tatum have skilful chemistry .
On top of the actual history , Fly Me to the Moonplays with the long - abide conspiracy hypothesis that the moon landing place was fake , with shady government agent Moe ( Woody Harrelson ) coming in to ask Kelly to oversee the creation of a faux - set down to diffuse in case the true effect function amiss . It ’s in all probability valid to query whether a movie acknowledging a cabal theory at a meter like this is responsible , but the execution is playful enough that it ’s easy to forgive .
Fly Me To The Moon puts a comedic twirl on the Apollo 11 mission , but did NASA rent a marketing squad and fake the moon landing in actual living ?
For the most part , Berlanti juggles all these plot train of thought ( and their respective whole step ) somewhat well , moving everything along at a alert tempo with the help of Daniel Pemberton ’s swinging musical score and Harry Jierjian ’s retro - styled redaction . At a sure full point , though , the melody is felt . There were many meter I thought the film had reached a suitable end point , only to realize there was still more to enwrap up . Because I enjoyed the characters and the atmosphere so much , I was willing to forgive the frequent fictive endings , but the picture felt longer than expected .
Fly Me To The Moon’s Supporting Cast Impresses
Even with small parts, they shine
Fly Me to the Moonis largely being marketed as a two - hander between Johansson and Tatum , and that is n’t an inaccurate depiction . Still , the pic would n’t experience as vibrant as it does without the added talents of its supporting cast . Ray Romano has a surprisingly heartfelt role as Cole ’s second - in - command , Henry , bringing astuteness to a type who sometimes disappears from the narrative .
The comedic MVP isCommunity ’s Jim Rash , who elicited the most laughter at my screening with his wry one - liners . He plays Lance Vespertine , the director hired to stage the fake moon landing place , and he make the most of every scene he has . Crucially , vaporize Me to the Moonnever lost sight of the friendship between Kelly and her adjunct Ruby ( Anna Garcia ) . This added a sweet extra level to the taradiddle that , unlike other elements , never felt foreign , and gave Garcia the chance to make Ruby more than a stock character .
Fly Me To The Moon’s Old Hollywood Feel Makes It A Charmer
Even when it gets really silly
With its glossy , richly - budgeted sheen , Fly Me to the Mooncould never be mistaken as anything but a 2024 moving-picture show , but there ’s a classic timber to it that had me remembering honest-to-god rom - coms . I would n’t ever dare say that Tatum and Johansson ’s chemical science matches that of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy , but there were second where I felt like their raillery could tally correctly in with one of the screen legends ' movies . There ’s a thrill that comes from determine two gifted worker firing melody back and forth .
Even whenFly Me to the Moonfeels close to bursting with the cause of packing everything in , the two leads ground everything with their devout performance .
Tatum ’s Cole has luggage related to the Apollo 1 tragedy , and Johansson ’s Kelly has skeleton of her own in the closet . Even whenFly Me to the Moonfeels close to bursting with the effort of packing everything in , the two lead ground everything with their heartfelt functioning . This is especially helpful when the pic fuck off a bit too enamored with the slapstick liquid body substance , particularly through the recurring use of a black cat . The African tea is adorable and does absorb laughs , but in a movie that takes a while to wrap up , it does n’t always feel necessary .
Despite sure shortcomings , vanish Me to the Moonhas sizable charm . In revive the years surrounding the Apollo 11 mission and the moon landing itself , Berlanti win in enkindle feelings of victory and awe in his audience . This is the kind of movie I ’d like to see more of , the kind that wears its heart on its arm and takes us on a drive . A meandering ride , sure , but even a long trip can have its perk .
pilot Me to the Moonreleases in theaters on Friday , July 12 . It is 132 minutes long and rated PG-13 for some strong language , and smoking .
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Fly Me To The Moon is a sharp , stylish funniness - drama set against the eminent - stakes backdrop of NASA ’s historic Apollo 11 moon landing place . Brought in to fix NASA ’s public image , sparks fly between Kelly Jones and Cole Davis ’s . When the White House take for the mission too important to fail , Jones is engineer to stage a bastard moon landing as back - up .
