Moonfall

More than 50 years after humans landed on its surface, Moonfall reimagines Earth’s natural satellite as a lunar Death Star hellbent on revenge against big brother.

That exaggerates the premise and also highlights the ridiculous nature of this silly science-fiction epic from director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day), which showcases some slick visuals while its high-minded concepts become lost in space.

The film opens with a tragic accident caused by a mysterious force that contacts a NASA spaceship, leading to mission commander Brian (Patrick Wilson) becoming the scapegoat and blaming navigator Jocinda (Halle Berry) for not supporting him during the investigation.

Ten years later, a crackpot blogger (John Bradley) confronts the disgraced Brian with evidence that the moon is out of orbit, hurtling large chunks toward the planet as it gets closer. Jocinda, now an executive in the scuffling space program, knows that the skeptical Brian might be the key to learning the truth, if only they can reconcile their past differences.

“We have to go back to the moon,” she explains. “We’ve gotta see what’s going on up there.” But such efforts toward heroic redemption are complicated by corruption allegations and bureaucratic red tape.

Spouting mumbo-jumbo about interplanetary megastructures and atmospheric dissipation, the scientists collectively suspect some sort of rogue shapeshifting entity that has embedded itself in a hole in the Mare Crisium. It’s in the data, apparently. And of course, time is running out before humankind is obliterated.

As you might expect, the convoluted screenplay follows a familiar save-the-world narrative template, shoving aside the character depth and emotional complexity in favor of spectacle meant to capture both the stirring beauty and the harrowing danger of the cosmos.

However, while its characters reach new heights, the film’s manufactured melodrama struggles to provide emotional grounding — gravity, if you will — while taking itself way too seriously. The final act turns into an incoherent mess.

Even by the standards of cinematic doomsday scenarios, the science is muddled and absurdly far-fetched, relying on loopy conspiracy theories and technological cautionary tales that diminish the stakes even as the planet faces imminent destruction.

The extent of the mayhem might make you feel better about real-world predicaments by comparison. Still, even moviegoers willing to check their brains at the door will find the modest large-scale thrills in Moonfall only qualify it as a disaster movie in unintentional ways.

Rated PG-13, 130 minutes.