Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

The Moon Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 25, 2024

Marooned was perceived as some in 1969 as that year's follow up to 1968's 2001: A Space Odyssey, at least with regard to a film featuring astronauts in peril and (then) mind blowing special effects. While Marooned did indeed follow in Kubrick's footsteps by winning an Academy Award for those very special effects the year after 2001: A Space Odyssey was similarly feted, it actually was even less of a blockbuster financially than 2001: A Space Odyssey, and has since probably retreated into somewhat lower echelons of cinematic esteem than Kubrick's masterpiece. One way or the other, though, The Moon can seem very reminiscent of both that film and other "stranded in space" epics like The Martian, though the tethers to Marooned in particular are probably at least somewhat stronger due to the fact that both Marooned and The Moon have a plot conceit that hinges on international cooperation in order to effect a rescue.

Marooned at least hinted at a little togetherness between archrivals the United States and what was then the Soviet Union, but kind of weirdly Moon decides to make the national antagonists in this entry South Korea and the United States, eschewing the "real life" fact that it is indeed Russia that is arguably currently doing the most consistent space exploration (this despite the USA's recent semi-successful attempt to land an unmanned craft on the moon). Here, the "history" supposedly involves a failed Korean mission that was kind of "Challenger-esque", exploding as it climbed from the launchpad. That failure leaves several characters in the film with various traumas, which are supposedly exploited in a screenplay that probably would have been better advised to keep things "out there", where young astronaut Hwang Sun-woo (Doh Kyung-soo) is left stranded after an accident kills two other team members.

Unfortunately, an arguably overly fussy screenplay includes Sun-woo as one of those people affected by the previous tragedy, albeit with regard to Sun- woo's late father, whose tragic end was tied to the first Korean launch disaster. There's a whole soap operatic set of interrelated characters that include Kim Jae-guk (Sol Kyung-gu), former head of Korea's version of NASA who also has some "history" with Sun-woo's father and Jae-guk's ex-wife Yoon Moon-young (Kim Hee-ae), who actually works for NASA. The brief supplements included on this disc make some passing allusions to how "forgiveness" and "working together" are really what the film is about, and while that's probably true, the film can't help but feel padded at times and might have ended up being more effective if a little less melodrama involving earthbound characters had been featured.

The Moon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Moon is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.89:1. As of the writing of this review, the IMDb doesn't really have any useful technical information, but the closing credits roll offer a helpful "captured with Arri Alexa 65" logo and one of the supplements mentions a 4K presentation, which I am assuming alludes to the DI. This was evidently a rather fulsomely budgeted feature for South Korea, and it looks like it. The effects work is generally very well done, blending CGI elements with practical props and sets rather seamlessly for the most part. Detail levels are often quite impressive, bolstered by an understandably claustrophobic use of extreme close-ups, not necessarily relegated only to the spacecraft sequences. The palette is rather refreshingly not graded aggressively at all, and maintains a nicely naturalistic appearance throughout the film. There is an almost quasi-documentarian approach at times, with "broadcast" material and other similar conceits, and occasionally those moments have been intentionally "distressed".

The Moon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Moon features a nicely immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, though the closing credits offer a Dolby Atmos logo, and I'm sure some audiophiles would have preferred an even more immersive listening experience had that codec been utilized. One way or the other, though, the side and rear channels are consistently engaged with background clamor of "high tech" sounds in both the space and mission HQ sequences. Surround activity can noticeably ebb in some of the more earthbound dialogue moments, which may be one passing qualm some may have with the track. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Moon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes (HD; 4:16)


• Character Bios (HD; 3:42)


• Trailer (HD; 1:25)

Note: As tends to be the case with Well Go USA Blu-ray releases, the disc has been authored so that supplements follow one another automatically (so that clicking on Behind the Scenes is essentially a Play All button. The disc is also authored to automatically move on to trailers for other Well Go USA releases after the Trailer for this film plays. Those trailers for other Well Go USA releases also play automatically at disc boot up.

Additionally, packaging features a slipcover.

The Moon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Moon may traffic in some very well worn material, and its kind of patently weird decision to wrangle NASA into a South Korean space epic may strike some as a bit unusual, but what may afflict this film even more than that decision is its ping ponging between some angst ridden scenes with an unabashed feeling of impending doom and other wending material featuring a bunch of people on Earth dealing with "personal" issues. That said, performances are generally committed, and the special effects work is very well done. Technical merits are solid, and with caveats noted, The Moon comes Recommended.