Fresh and Exciting

Crappy film

A Masterpiece!

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

In 1969 the US wants a backup plan in case the moon landing fails. Special Agent Kidman (Ron Perlman) with a suitcase full of money is tasked to go to London to convince Stanley Kubrick to make the film. Kidman doesn't like the British and through a series of events, Kubrick is out and Kidman is forced to make a production that had all the worse elements, with the director (Tom Audenaert) having to be told "There are no Jellyfish on the moon." Jonny (Rupert Grint) is a band manager for the "Yellow Blackguards" and is the go between for Kidman and the director ...and the mob is also after him.What can I say, this is a stoner film. Kidman goes into a berserker mode as music from "Clockwork Orange" play in the background. Perlman, who played "Hellboy" is called an angel. The production has substance abuse written all over it.Guide: F-bomb, no sex. Topless hippies (no silicon) Drug use. Blood and killing. Heads being blown off.At one point in the film Rupert claims someone defecated on his Jimi Hendrix record. The label was Atlantic when Hendrix recorded on Reprise. Made the whole thing unbelievable.

As the poster says 'Moonwalkers' is actually based on a very popular conspiracy theory. The theory is, legendary director Stanley Kubrick was hired by the US government to film a fake moon landing. By doing this America would effectively win the "space race" and give them more time to perfect the Apollo missions. That's the conspiracy. To get a movie that is solely based around this idea had me very interested in the film. It also helped to have two good actors on board. Ron Perlman has already established himself as a great actor but the stand out is Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley). Who, following the 'Harry Potter' films, hasn't done much. After seeing this, I wish he was in more films. He was surprisingly great here. He essentially plays a loser. A manager of a failing band who seemingly can do nothing right. But when chance comes, he fakes being a talent agent to get a whole lot of money. Thinking that he can deliver the legendary director, Perlman willingly hands over the cash. Being a CIA agent Perlman finds out real quick that these guys were impostors and goes after the cash. From here the film goes in a ton of different directions but this is the main idea of the film. What I loved about this movie is the ideas it adopts from Kubricks work. In the first half of the film everything from the soundtrack to the production design has Kubrick written all over it. It was a nice little homage to one of the greatest directors of all time. I loved hearing orchestras play over action scenes and appealing, colorful design. This is all captured very well thanks to pretty good direction and cinematography. I got the feeling that they actually cared about making each shot interesting and unique. However the last half of the film is not this good. It basically forgets about the homages it's paying to Kubrick and devolves to standard, overused music. Not only that but it forgets about the characters attributes it sets up. One character has PTSD that attacks him early and often. It even makes him attack his living room in a daze. Yet, the last half of the film never sees this very specific trait return. Yes, the utterly randomized disease just goes away after taking a couple of illegal drugs. It's hard to get into a movie that forgets about nearly everything it sets up, but this film makes it even harder to get into. There are two or three action scenes in the film and every single one is unconvincing. I'm not sure if the director just couldn't handle it or the actors couldn't. But every single one is shot so you can't see anything or in slow motion. Doing this made these scenes feel distant. The film doesn't put you there. You aren't scared for the characters because you don't care and action isn't convincing enough to get ooos and ahs. By the end it is trying to do so many different things with its story that it loses track of what it's actually doing. The US government, some mob boss, a brothel, and a terrible band are all key aspects to the story by the end. And the film just didn't know how to balance them. It took the fun, quirky, and bright first half and did the exact opposite in the second. By the end the film had forgotten what it was trying to do and basically did everything else it could to hide it's own aimlessness.

Having no idea what this film was about, I decided to watch it on Netflix last night. I was absolutely blown away by how funny and original this movie is. It's probably one of the best comedies of the decade. Rupert Grint has only starred in so few movies after Harry Potter, but this movie proves he could be on top of the box office like Radcliffe and Watson. The plot is based on the moon landing conspiracies. Jonny is a unsuccessful band manager who is in deep trouble with a crime boss. When CIA Agent and Haunted Vietnam Fighter Kidman mistakes him for Stanley Kubrick's agent, he gets them to make a fake moon landing movie that would be shown live on TV. The money is stolen and Kidman teams up with Jonny and his drugged up pal Leon to make that fake moon landing film. The genius of Moonwalkers is it's atmosphere. The highly hostile and dangerous British Environment makes for some actual funny jokes and absolutely fun characters. The characters don't just develop, they grow. Kidman and Jonny are great to be around and have huge development leaps in characters. The other characters like Renatus, an art house film director are significant and hilarious. Leon is one of the best characters in the movie especially in the climax of the film when they are shooting the fake moon landing. This also happens to be a black comedy filled with heads exploding from sawed off shotguns, teeth being broken, many violent outbursts from Kidman and a violent climax that is nearly perfect. The movie is filled with surprises and laughs. Moonwalkers could become The Rocky Horror Picture Show of it's time if it was marketed better, had a wide release and had more critical praise. It's destined for a cult following.95/100 A

A Wild and Off-Beat B-Movie with very Broad Strokes and is All Over the Map with its Outrageous Plot about Stanley Kubrick Faking the Moon Landing.Set in the Psychedelic Sixties it spares Nothing and No One with its Ultra-Violence and Over the Top Characterizations. It's a Colorful, Mad-Cap, Action-Comedy that Hits the mark most of the time and is an Entertaining Effort with an Abundance of Artistic Flare.Ron Pelleman is Superb as a CIA Agent that is in the Center of this Whirlpool of Government Conspiracies and Gangland Comeuppance. Violent and Sleazy, it contains Nudity and Gore but the Impressive Production Design alone is Worth the Price of Admission.Rupert Grint (of Harry Potter fame) is also quite Good as the "Loser" Rock Band Manager who Stumbles and Bumbles but Charms His way through Outlandish Situations. There's one Acid-Dropping Scene with Pelleman that is a Standout.Overall, Worth a Watch for "Artsy" Types and Anyone who Enjoys Off-Kilter Cinema with a Good Cast, a Quirky Story, and the Talent to Deliver such a Maniacal Movie and make it all work.