Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
What if Apollo 11 never actually made it? What if, in reality, Stanley Kubrick secretly shot the famous images of the moon landing in a studio, working for the US administration? This is the premise of a totally plausible conspiracy theory that takes us to swinging sixties London, where a stubborn CIA agent will never find Kubrick but is forced to team up with a lousy manager of a seedy rock band to develop the biggest con of all time.
Moonwalkers is a mid-tier action-comedy that plays on the entertaining moon landing conspiracy premise with reasonable energy. The plot is clever in conception but execution becomes messy and uneven, losing steam in the second half. Acting from Ron Perlman and Rupert Grint is serviceable and occasionally charming but neither is given enough to truly shine. Cinematography is functional and period-appropriate but unremarkable, failing to capitalize on the swinging sixties London setting as much as it could. The premise itself—Kubrick faking the moon landing as a comedy—gives it some novelty points, though the execution doesn't fully exploit the concept's potential. The ending is chaotic and unsatisfying, trying to land on a tonal note that the film hasn't quite earned. Overall a watchable but forgettable genre piece.