[HanCinema's Film Review] "The Moon"

The turn of Korean (mainstream) cinema towards Hollywood practices and aesthetics has been a fact documented for years, with the sense, though, becoming more and more intense as time passes. Furthermore, it seems that local filmmakers have also found ways to include Korean-favorite melodrama within these types of narrative, essentially coming up with an amalgam of their own. "The Moon" is definitely one of those movies.

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In 2029, Korea's lunar probe Woori embarks on a historic journey to the moon, capturing global attention. 5 years before, however, a similar expedition resulted in a disaster, essentially pushing Center Head Kim Jae-gook out of Korea's space program, with him not being able to cope with the death of one of the crew members. This time, Kim is nowhere to be found, but a connection with the first mission does exist in the face of Hwang Seon-woo, son of the aforementioned deceased. Things, however, do not go as planned this time either, as a sudden solar wind from a sunspot explosion strikes the probe, leading Seon-woo stranded on his own in the spaceship. With the current center director who is guiding the mission remotely out of his depth, the people in charge decide to bring back Kim, along with NASA's General Director of manned lunar orbiter Yoon Moon-yeong, to help the young man fulfill his mission and survive. The problems, however, are not over.

Allow me to start with the negative. The rather forced combination of melodrama and nationalism (with the latter becoming a standard in similar movies both from Hollywood and China) results in a narrative that is cheesy, far-fetched, and filled with unnecessary scenes that extend its duration to 129 minutes for no apparent reason. The amount of episodes and characters also move in the same direction, for a movie that becomes tiring on a number of occasions. Lastly, the effort to present something that is essentially sci-fi (even without the aliens) as grounded in reality also does not work particularly well, especially because the drama in the movie is also not realistic.

Apart from these issues, though, which are not minor in any way, there are a number of aspects that make the movie worthwhile. First and foremost is the acting. Sol Kyung-gu as Jae-gook proves once more why he is considered one of the best Korean actors, being captivating both in the dramatic and the more comic moments. Do Kyung-soo as Seon-woo is also quite good in the role of the struggling but always courageous 'mentee'. Park Byung-eun as the center director highlights his agony and frustration in the best fashion, while Kim Hee-ae as Moon-yeong plays the ultimate bosswoman/politician with gusto. Lastly, Hong Seung-hee as Kang Han-byeol, Jae-gook's assistant, is excellent in her comic relief characterization.

Furthermore, and although some CGI particularly in outer space could be better, the ones on the moon are quite impressive. Explosions, earthquakes and the overall cruel pragmatism of space come together in order to present a series of sequences that are as tense as they are entertaining. In that regard, Jung Ji-eun-I's editing emerges as another of the best aspects of the movie, during these sequences, with the cuts between the disasters in space and the agony and effort of the people on Earth working exceptionally well.

"The Moon" is a movie that the sum of its individual elements does not exactly have a positive sign, but there are still enough elements here to deem the title entertaining, in a production that is bound to satisfy fans of Hollywood blockbusters.

Review by Panos Kotzathanasis

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"The Moon" is directed by Kim Yong-hwa, and features Sol Kyung-gu, Do Kyung-soo, Kim Hee-ae, Park Byung-eun, Jo Han-chul, Choi Byung-mo. Release date in Korea: 2023/08/02.