The Moon - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Moon



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
Seoul, we have a problem.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. The most interesting films coming out of Asia all seem to be from South Korea lately. Action, sci-fi, historical fiction, and even martial arts films are all gaining worldwide success over the infamous Chinese juggernaut that was Hong Kong cinema. Dr. Cheon and the Lost Talisman that was also released this last week surprised me, and now The Moon has taken over the #1 spot out of the two films with a gripping (if not slightly disjointed at times) space drama about a stranded astronaut trying to get home after a moon landing accident.

While Russia has really been doing the bulk of the space exploration outside of the United States, South Korea takes on the role of Russia here by putting themselves as the 2nd major nation to go out into space in any large capacity. Heralded by a flurry of news broadcasts and “documentary” interviews at the beginning, The Moon clues the audience in to the plot that South Korea’s space program is booming, and has found deposits of natural gasses and ore under the surface of the moon that could provide energy for the the Earth nations to use, prompting a moon landing expedition that will take samples and see if the idea is viable.

While up in orbit over the moon a solar flare hits their vessel, destroying the navigation system and killing 2 of the 3 astronauts within minutes. The only man surviving is rookie Hwang Seon-woo (Kyung-soo Do) who manages to crash land a shuttle on the moon’s surface in order to at least attempt to finish the obviously borked mission. Now it’s a race against time as Korea’s command centers attempts a daring rescue of the lone pilot, who is doing his best to simply stay alive and make it till help can come.

Melodrama, honor driven suicides, near death experiences, and heroic sacrifices and teary eyed goodbye speeches become the norm for the 2 hour and 9 minute drama that manages to cram more of the before mentioned components into these two hours than your average tear jerker Hollywood blockbuster does in multiple movies. The Korean’s love to put melodrama and over the top emotional things into their films (their soap operas are LEGENDARY for this), but overall this is a much more toned down version of their usual fare. The end result is a film that is actually really gripping, with massive budget meteor storms, explosions, near death chases, and a really heart pulling story of redemption and forgiveness (Hwang’s father committed suicide 5 years prior due to his part in a botched moon landing accident that paved the way for his entry into space), even if the audience is well aware that this is “oscar bait” style of emotional manipulation.

The story is actually rather agile for being 2 hours plus, and manages to keep the audience glued to their seats for a majority of the film. The first act is probably the slowest of the 3 acts (outside of the first portion accident), but once Hwang is down on the surface of the moon things get hair and fast paced really quickly. The escape scene from the rogue meteor shower is absolutely mind blowing, with some of the best special effects I have ever seen come out of Korean cinema (not surprising considering the budget put into it, and the fact that this was directed by the same man who did both Along with the Gods films). There’s some slowdowns and overly dramatic tearful speeches near the end, and despite it being completely unrealistic, the end rescue puts that smile on your face that they wanted. Basically this is South Korea’s Armageddon, just with an Apollo 13 veneer. It’s cheesy, but definitely fun and engaging.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Probably the highlight of the Blu-ray package is the incredible 1.89:1 AVC encode image that we get to revel in. Home theater fans always love a 5/5 rated disc to use as demo material, and this one is going right into that pile of “check this out!” material for when your friends come over. I can’t find any technical information on how the film was shot (not surprising for foreign films) except for the Arri Alexa symbol shown in the credits. That being said, this is a mind blowingly perfect transfer, with razor sharp details in both space and back in mission control, as well as deep inky blacks that DIDN’T suffer from the typical Well Go USA banding issues (there was a few moments, but it was very fleeting and brief). Colors on the moon will have a decidedly blue and gray hue to them, while the mission control shots tend to lean more towards blue and amber. Either section is still immaculately detailed, with intimate facial nuances and clothing details easily noticeable to the human eye. Personally I would kill for this to have been released in 4K, as this was just the perfect example of eye candy, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Well Go USA might release it that way someday as they have with some other films recently. Great looking picture









Audio:

Again, I really wish Well Go USA had mastered the audio in Atmos or DTS:X, but the 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is a killer mix nonetheless. Surround channels are used impeccably (and rather copiously) with the sound of raining meteor bits, roaring of engines, and general background noise in Mission Command. LFE is deep and guttural, offering several moments near the beginning and end where I actually heard my windows rattle and flex from the sheer power pumping out of that low end channel. Dialog is crisp and cleanly located up front, and the entire track is balanced rather well (although there were a few times I had to turn the track DOWN as effects pushed the hotness knob up a tad high).












Extras:

• Theatrical Trailer
• Well Go USA Previews
• Character Bios
• Behind the Scenes

Final Score:
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I really ended up liking The Moon. I saw it get some rather mediocre reviews from other sources before I did my viewing, but I rather heartily disagree. This is a “check your brain at the door” moon landing type of movie that blends elements of Apollo 13, Armageddon and Marooned together in a heart warming rescue story that hits all of the proper notes. The Blu-ray from Well Go USA is absolutely superb, with picture perfect video, great audio but the normal anemic extras that is typical of most Well Go USA titles. All in all, this was a fun watch.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Sol Kyung-gu, Do Kyung-soo, Kim Hee-ae, Jo Han-chul, Shim Young-eun
Directed by: Yong-hwa Kim
Written by: Yong-hwa Kim
Aspect Ratio: 1.89:1 AVC
Audio: Korean: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Korean DD 2.0
Subtitles: English
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: NR
Runtime: 129 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: February 27th, 2024

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[Mike Schramm]

You're going to cost me a lot of money, Mike. Every time I read a review I find another movie I need to pick up. I am a big fan of "leave your brain at the door" and just have a good time movies. Especially ones with great audio and video. Thanks for finding me another one!

 

[Todd Anderson]

You're going to cost me a lot of money, Mike. Every time I read a review I find another movie I need to pick up. I am a big fan of "leave your brain at the door" and just have a good time movies. Especially ones with great audio and video. Thanks for finding me another one!

I love it. I'm in the same boat as you. And Mike is never wrong on his assessments, save for the fact that ET is, in fact, a Time Crush Hall of Famer, and Paranormal Activity isn't a good film. But, we all have our faults.

 

[Dom Haerpfer]

Hello, bought the German 4K blu-ray which is in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Have not had time to watch it yet but your review tells me it is going to be one hell of a home theater experience.

 

[Michael Scott]

Hello, bought the German 4K blu-ray which is in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Have not had time to watch it yet but your review tells me it is going to be one hell of a home theater experience.

super jealous