The first teaser for Moonfall is here. Director Roland Emmerich, whose previous summer blockbusters about the end of the world includes Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and 2012, plans to threaten humanity again with a wholly unique approach to planetary devastation.
While it sounds like a Bond sequel, Moonfall finds the helmer back to his usual tricks, combining the themes of his entire filmography – mankind is doomed -- into a smush of apocalyptic popcorn blockbusterism wherein the moon collides with Earth. Does it make sense? No. Do we care? Also, no.
In the movie, a mysterious force sends the moon out of orbit and on a collision course with Earth. Luckily, Halle Berry's NASA executive and former astronaut Jo Fowler is on the case. According to the synopsis, she is "convinced she has the key to save us all", and teams up with astronaut Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) and conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman (John Bradley).
The final sentence of the official synopsis is the most intriguing: "These unlikely heroes will mount an impossible last-ditch mission into space, leaving behind everyone they love, only to find out that our Moon is not what we think it is."
If that giant whiff of mystery wasn't enough in written form, the fading shots of the teaser hint at the arrival of a gigantic creature. So this mysterious force which disrupts the moon? An alien species inspired by Mechagodzilla by the looks of it!
Aside from the excitement of an extraterrestrial race, the rest of the teaser flings together action-packed shots of terrifying incidents across the globe, most of which seemingly defy basic physics but look, like, super cool. Much like the late-90s double-whammy of Armageddon and Deep Impact, the central conceit here appears propped up on dodgy science but backed by what's no doubt going to be an emotional ending, presumably with someone sacrificing themselves for the good of mankind. My money's on Patrick Wilson.
Moonfall also stars Michael Peña, Charlie Plummer, Kelly Yu, Eme Ikwuakor, Carolina Bartczak, and Donald Sutherland, and is slated for release on February 4, 2022. ntil it hits theaters (not literally, fingers crossed), stay on top of what's coming to the cinema with our rundown of the most anticipated upcoming movies of 2021 and beyond.
