I’ll be one to second that. Moon was absolutely fantastic, and while I doubt that anything is going to change in the genre in the near future, I think that it shows that a highly intelligent, sharp and cheap film can be a far better film than one stuffed with money and firecrackers.

What struck me was how much more malevolent GERTY was compared to HAL. The smilies just creeped me out.

I need to watch it again (and again to see the Tron reference) but one thing bothered me from a plot POV. Why didn’t Sam2 try to save Sam1 and himself by using one of the un-activated clones as the decoy?

One of the things I LOVED about MOON was the production design – the still you’ve used at the end of your post captures it nicely, with the environment around Sam framing the performance using the same stylish retro-futuristic aesthetic I first encountered in the PlayStation game Wipeout, and the wider work of Designers’ Republic.

Taking the bait of your post’s deliberately provocative conclusion, I’ve always struggled with the need to understand one film as ‘better’ than another – especially where one film is so clearly influenced by another. And here, it feels as though the influence 2001 exerts over MOON is present as much in my experience of watching it as it is in the production itself.

2001 taught me what to expect from the aesthetics of a good science fiction movie. It also trained me to be instantly wary of a ship’s computer, a prejudice Jones goes after with the eesentially benevolent, emoticon-faced Gerty.

These learnings were subsequently reinforced by Ridley Scott’s ALIEN, and by Stanley Donen’s SATURN 3 (penned, incidentally, by Martin Amis), both movies that, though their tone is completely different, have a place within the evolution of my experience of watching MOON.

If there’s value in comparisons, maybe my position would be this – that MOON has the potential to be as important a movie as 2001 in the evolution of the science-fiction genre, and that, pound for pound, it feels like there’s more meaning, and heart, and style in this movie than any of the forerunners to which it owes its existence.

Brilliant review.

Been arguing this point with a friend, who complained that, “the film went nowhere after blowing its load early.” I can understand where he’s coming from, but that’s missing the point entirely in my view.

Great review, Mike, and the first time I’ve been interested in getting a DVD just for the commentary since The Thing’s release on disc.

Was in two minds whether this was for me or not. Though beautifully shot, I find 2001 to be way too abstract and ponderous for my tastes. Was anticipating pretty much the same for Moon,

Nevertheless, your thoughts have me intrigued, and despite the spoilers, I’ll be hunting this one down for a viewing.

Was checking out your Flickr stream earlier. Lovely stuff.