User reviews

7.8/10 (Definitely Recommend)

"Fly Me to the Moon" is a romanticized account of the Apollo 11 moon mission, and how they put a man in space. Despite the film's storytelling being primarily focused on a launch director (Tatum) and a marketing maven (Johansson), it truly pulls you into the overall story.

Scarlett Johansson and Woody Harrelson fit well into the story, but even after watching the film I'm still iffy about Channing Tatum's performance. For me he just seemed like a modern day guy who pops up in the 1960s and wears increasingly cliche "Star Trek" shirts especially when he wore yellow. Despite that that slightly ill feeling the overall chemistry of the cast was great. Tatum was really the only one who felt "out".

The cinematography along with the score and sets made it feel like the 1960s, but with a clean look. The combination of both archival footage and the modern film gave you the feeling that you were experiencing the Apollo 11 launch for the first time in your life. My heart was racing with every aspect despite the full knowledge that crew went up, stepped on the moon, and returned.

This film is definitely date night worthy as it's very much focused on the relationship between the two aforementioned work titles of Scar Jo and Channing Tatum, but it still meshes well with a historical aspect. The film also has rewatch-ability as I would watch it again.

Overall, there is a good amount to like about the film. The characters, the setting, and the editing are my top three. Definitely worthy of seeing at least once, and as stated it does make for a good date night movie too.

That's it for now. Thanks for taking time to read my review. Happy watching and enjoy the show!

Fly Me to the Moon is a lovely throwback to the kind of films that are so rarely seen these days. Even though a lot of the film revolves around filming a fake version of the Moon landing this clearly loves Nasa and their achievements. It's a fun romantic comedy that moves between all the drama, comedy, and romance in a way that can sustain a run time that's slightly overly long.

Scarlett Johansson & Channing Tatum are a surprisingly strong pairing. Even when they're at odds or have completely fallen out, their chemistry is strong enough to make you root for them to end up together like they inevitably will and they're both given a good amount of depth to work with. Woody Harrelson uses his easygoing charm to be slightly sinister here and Jim Rash is very funny in a very broad fashion.

Greg Berlanti's direction has a nice amount of energy for the most part. There's plenty of split screen and the period setting gives it a lot more life in the visuals than most streaming films. It's just the Moon landing sequence itself that needed greater showmanship to match the reverence with which it's celebrated. Daniel Pemberton's score has a warmth to it that keeps proceedings as tonally on point as possible.

When I saw the trailer for FLY ME TO THE MOON, I thought it looked like it would be fun, but I wasn't sure if it would be good. It is a movie taking place during the great space race of the 60s, where a shady government agent Moe (Woody Harrelson) hires the best marketing specialist Kelly (Scarlett Johansson) to publicize NASA to save their space program. She tries to work with the Apollo 11 launch director Cole (Channing Tatum), who is against the whole idea. The lines are blurred between acting and lying in this romance/comedy/political satire/historical drama. That's my main problem with this: it tries to be too many things, making the tone and pacing jarring for the audience. I didn't really feel the chemistry between the leads. I heard Chris Evans was going to be the lead. That would've been much better as him and "Scar-Jo" are good friends. Nothing against Channing, I just think he needed more to work with. It didn't feel like they were in the 60s: the costume designs were, but the way they spoke, not so much. Saying all of that, I still liked the fun ride. The side characters knew what kind of movie this was, especially Ray Romano and Jim Rash. The leads' backstories were good as well, even though I wish I had known a little earlier so I could have something to hang on to, character-wise. This was a perfectly charming crowd-pleaser that, to me, felt very much like a "studio-driven" movie. Original idea but somehow formulaic. FLY ME TO THE MOON is about how people will believe anything if Scarlett Johansson sells it to them. I still recommend seeing this "bit of fluff", as my uncle would say.

It's becoming increasingly frustrating on IMDb that good movies often receive low ratings while some less deserving ones get rated surprisingly high.

That said, this movie deserves a solid 7 for several reasons. First, it effectively illustrates how the conspiracy began, allowing viewers to connect the dots and see how a significant achievement was turned into a conspiracy.

Further, Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum are perfectly cast in their roles and they complement each other well on screen. Woody Harrelson and Ray Romano also deliver strong performances, fitting seamlessly into the story.

With few quality films this summer, this one stands out as a must watch. So dont think twice, just watch.

Isn't what Scarlett's (she also was a producer) doing here called meta-meta-acting? Didn't she just make a giant commercial for NASA and about American patriotism, just like her character had to do for NASA and the American people? And doing that did, in the process, a bunch of commercials for Omega and Tang and all those other products that, ironically and totally coincidentally, are still relevant today?

I dig it. It's well made and something that looks good, even if we saw this movie in one way or another before. We just didn't see this angle before. It does have a Netflix feel, but it's just a better version of that in all regards - it was made by Apple.

The only thing that didn't flow right was the chemistry between Scarlett's character and Channing's. I think it would have been better without the romance, but it's a small issue.

I was lucky enough to get an advanced screening of this film, and to be honest it was exactly what I was expecting.

The film for sure one of the better romantic comedy's of the recent years. Over the past few years it feels like these kinds of movies have been slowly dying so it's really nice for the genre to get fresh air. Though with that said the movie feels somewhat basic. It follows a similar formula to many other films of its kind. The whole movie feels like a template with a few modifications.

The film takes place with the backdrop of the space race which is something very unique about this movie. One of the best things the movie does is how it creates this fake story that feels kinda plausible.

Channing Tatum and Scarlet Johansson! Both standout actors. Neither of their roles are very deep or require much emotion, but they both manage to play them beautifully. The chemistry they share is amazing and I would totally be down to see another movie with them.

We can all learn something new about one of history's most well know events, the Apollo 11 rocket launch and moon landing through a different lens. Witness the favorable effects on public perception and governmental fund allocations achieved by marketing and Public Relations tactics bringing much-needed support to the mission. This is how many of today's well-known brands (such as Omega watches) got their recognition off the ground and virtually launched into the stratosphere. The pacing never felt like watching paint dry, and the acting of Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson was refreshing to follow.

This movie is NOT generic. At all. If the premise of faking the mood landing is not in this movie than yes it's a pretty generic rom com but because that's the entire movie I don't get how this is generic.

If you have a beating heart and sense of humor this movie will charm you. ScarJo is throwing 100 mph in every scene. She's outstanding. This is a signature performance in her catalog and really fleshes out what makes her 1 of 1. One down side is that Channing Tatum is very good in the movie but he's not on her level and I don't think anyone would argue that. Her scenes with Jim Rash (sneaky MVP) are all time great. They have some magic I hope they do more work together. I've always been found of his performance in Community and his screen play The Way Way Back.

The other surprise for me was how great Woody and ScarJo are together. That was the secret sauce of the movie. Not just their acting chemistry but the idea of a Nixon enforcer and fixer battling with this con artist type advertising saleswoman is beautiful stuff. It's really breathtaking to witness.

The other part of this movie that provides some fun for all ages is the stuff with the cat in the movie. This is such a cute and realistic use of a cat who just lingers around an area getting in the way just in the smallest way.

This film has nothing to say and there is no reason to exist. It's sort of a romcom but it's not very romantic. It's sort of a comedy but not really. It's kind of about a conspiracy theory but only slightly and even then not really. It pulls its punches, doesn't know what it is, and doesn't ultimately have any point to it. It's more amusing than actually funny. It has 2 characters that are meant to fall in love but you won't feel it. It feels like someone told ChatGPT to "make a generic movie" and it shoved all the ingredients together.

I got bored watching it. It's fun enough, it passes the time, but I also felt like I wanted to avoid watching films ever again if this is what they are going to be like.

I had the chance to see Fly Me to the Moon at a mystery screening, and it was a delightful surprise! Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson deliver fantastic performances in this unique mix of comedy and drama. The film takes a fresh approach to the Apollo 11 mission, focusing on a marketing specialist hired to make America fall in love with going to space and secure political support. The story is both entertaining and heartfelt, with standout performances from Woody Harrelson and Ray Romano. The cast is stellar, and the film strikes a perfect balance between humor and emotion. If you love space and history, this is a must-watch. I highly recommend it!

It's really two good movies put together that don't really mesh well. One is a standard rom-com set against the Apollo 11 launch. The other is a fun look at the supposedly fictional fake moon landing. Each is well done and interesting on its own, but they're not integrated well.

There's nothing about the rom-com story that is all that new. In fact, all the characters are pretty standard for stories like this.

It's the faked landing story that's the real meat of the story. I wish this was the entire movie and not just something they introduced in the second half.

All of the actors are good and well cast. The standouts are Channing Tatum as the overly serious NASA guy and Scarlett Johansson as the wily con-artist turned media specialist. They may not be Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, but they play well off each other. They're at their most fun one-upping each other, though Kelly is often played as too smug.

Ray Romano and Woody Harrelson are great in their supporting roles. Romano has some of the more heartfelt moments. Harrelson has some of the funniest. Of course, it's Jim Rash as the self-absorbed film director who steals the movie. He upstages everyone every time he's on screen.

The film looks good. The stuff film at the actual Cape Canaveral is gorgeous, and the classic buildings are shot with plenty of reverence. The launch itself looks great, even if it doesn't quite match the spectacle of 1995's Apollo 13.

It's a good movie for what it is. It's entertaining and well-made. But it would've been better if the two stories were more integrated or if it was split into two separate movies.

This movie would have been a thousand times better had the just focused on "Project Artemis" and left out the other storylines. Channing Tatum was poorly cast and completely unbelievable as a launch director for NASA. Scarlett Johansson was great as was Woody Harrelson...there could have been a lot more Woody! There were way too many stories, to the point that it felt like the screenwriter(s) just threw spaghetti at the wall and went with what stuck. I thought the cinematography was great. All-in-all,I walked away disappointed. The writer/director, and producers could have given us a lot more by delivering a lot less.

Fly me to the moon has what a comedy movie must have. A good premisse, good jokes and an outstanding cast. Scarlett Johansson delivered one more fabulous performance.

I liked the theme being around the moon landing conspiracies, and the fact that they used the conspiracies in their favour integrating them naturally in the movie was really nice to see. They blended the truth and the staged so nicely that it turned out funny but also thoughtful.

The most negative points that i shall appoint is that i would have liked for a deeper dive in the theme but i can admit that this is a personal thing, not related to the movie. Aside for that, i perhaps could have prefered for a more thought build of the romance between the main characters, but for me, that is secondary.

Giving this an 7.5/10 rating

Easy preview and it's a good watch, I saw it on Superscreen at Cineworld, and it's a lovely, lovely looking film, crazy story, that is for sure, and you must take it all with a grain of salt, or maybe sugar.

Greg Berlanti, makes everything look good, this film does look like you could eat it, I hope he does animation next, or James Bond??? Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum and a very sinister but jolly Woody Harrelson are on form here, no messing about. Tatum, is very stoic, Johansson, is the free spirit of the film, and is where the laughs come from.

NASA is a place of hard work and joy, back in the 1960'2 as they are fuelled by 'Cold War' paranoia, and must beat the Russians, first. That is the real driving force and the romance is second, but both work well hand in hand thanks to the writing trio of Keenan Flynn, Rose Gilroy and Bill Kirstein.

It's a good evenings worth in the cinema, it's so visual that watching this at home or laptop or small screen, is a waste of time, just warning you, it's like 80 percent of films now.

I dithered over whether to watch this but we went for it and it was an enjoyable couple of hours in the cinema. There's no comparison between the two leads; Johanson is engaging and funny. Tatum is surely just a Thunderbird puppet both in looks and acting. Harrelson adds his own typically unique character to the role he plays. It was hilarious reading some reviewers complaining of the lack of historical accuracy. That's like complaining that Airplane doesn't accurately reflect what happens to an aircraft in emergency. The plot is described elsewhere and whilst it's a bit daft, I'm sure some people will take it a bit too seriously but go, watch it and enjoy an easy couple of hours.

"Fly Me to the Moon" is a surprisingly delightful romantic comedy that exceeds the typical expectations of the genre. It is quite difficult to find romantic comedies that score more than 7 out of 10, but this film stands out due to its high-quality production, well-crafted script, and, above all, the excellent performances by the cast. I was particularly impressed with Scarlett's performance; as always, she delivers a remarkable and nuanced portrayal.

The film does not advertise itself as being based on a true story, but while watching, you can't help but wonder if there's some grain of truth behind the hilarious and touching situations it presents. The way the plot unfolds makes you reflect on the complexities of lathe space race and Cold War , keeping you engaged from start to finish.

Overall, "Fly Me to the Moon" is a pleasant surprise in the realm of romantic comedies, offering the perfect blend of humor, emotion, and strong performances. It is definitely worth watching, especially for those looking for something more substantial than the typical genre clichés.

The idea that the Moon landing of 1969 was faked using astronauts in a Hollywood studio has been a conspiracy theory for decades. This movie takes a comical swipe on these rumors.

Starring Johansson, Tatum & Harrelson, Fly me to the Moon fictionally describes the times at NASA during 1960s when Apollo 11 was launched successfully into space. Kelly Jones, a journalist hired by the white house as a public relation expert in order to generate funds for Apollo missions when the whole country was distracted towards Vietnam War. Things get messy when she is asked to fake the mission by filming the moon landing that will be broadcasted to the whole world in case the mission fails. Her fling with NASA's launch director Cole Davis doesn't helps her at all in this top secret mission.

The film rightly focusses on the importance of Apollo 11 mission to each and everyone at NASA especially to Cole Davis played by Tatum. Johansson is also superb as deliciously minxy Kelly Jones. Harrelson as always nails the role of bullish White house official Moe Berkus.

The sizzling chemistry and timing of the lead makes it a good entertainer which is about 20 minutes too long.

Not for me. I found 'Fly Me to the Moon' to be a disappointment.

A sure sign of that being the case is that I don't have any positives for this movie. Well, OK, Scarlett Johansson is good, but there honestly isn't any other element to this that I can say I enjoyed. Johansson's co-star Channing Tatum feels miscast, I like the guy as an actor but here I didn't feel like he fit - visually his character didn't look or sound like someone out of the 1960s, in my eyes at least.

None of the support cast did anything for me either, though Woody Harrelson and Ray Romano are passable. Away from the cast, the story also didn't hold much interest for me. I feel like the moon landing bits, generally speaking, is all pretty standard and stuff we've seen before. The romance plot isn't merged in well, I didn't sense any chemistry between Johansson and Tatum. The music is also quite weak, almost TV-esque.

The run time is also too long, no way this 2024 flick needed to last over two hours! If I ignore all of that, then I guess I enjoyed it...

The premise: the United States will be first to the moon and they'll get there even if they have to lie. And so our protagonist who is a practiced liar is enlisted to create a set and put the moon landing on camera on a just-in-case sound stage. What can ruin such a plan? The most obvious answer is shown in the first few minutes of the film. Not entirely creative and even for the sixties a pretty easy joke. You'll have to watch to see what I mean.

The journey of our protagonist lead played by Scarlett Johansson is pretty straight forward. Were lead astray that maybe the boy is not her goal, but it is. And the girl is his. Ho hum. We already know that the rocket will fly. We just aren't sure if the secret plan will remain a secret. It seems pretty obvious it will. So we're not here for that. We're here for love. That's fine.

It's well done, well acted, and well, it's over and everyone gets paid. Lots of easy to see jokes. Another review I saw suggested it was written by A. I. I can see how they got there. Not that bad though. $20 to rent so make sure you have multiple people to see it to get your moneys worth.

There was so much about this story I really liked, but unfortunately, I believe the screenplay was poorly written. The back story for Johanson's charactor was potentially so rich had it been devleopled more and unfolded earlier. A missed opportunity to have a storyline that revealed more of her personality and her motivations. Instead, it was muted and barely significant. The mission should have been the powerful backdrop for her story, Channing Tatums charactor and his emotional struggle, and why these two came together and redemption for them both. Instead, you barely notice. Love Woody Harrelson, but the role is very poorly written. Another missed opportunity. I also love Channing Tatum, but either he just didn't have a passion for this role, or as I believe, he's the victim of an extremely weak script and/or poor direction. He always devourers the screen in every movie and with a better script and better direction, he could have hit a home run. The gay character was overplayed/under-written in a way that made it so unreal, and shallow, especiallyfor the time period. I don't understand why hollywood insists on having an LGBTQ character and then go out of their way to make us look rediculous unnessarily. I really thought we have outgrown this by now.

It's a comedy-drama about the Apollo 11 space mission set in 1968 and 1969, primarily set at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It follows a fast-talking advertising executive, Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson), who is hired by Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson), a fixer in the Nixon White House, to help confirm funding for the Apollo space program and prepare a staged moon landing if necessary. Ruby Martin (Anna Garcia) is her assistant. Lance Vespertine (Jim Rash) is the foppish advertising director Kelly hires to stage the fake landing.

Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) is a Korean War hero and wanna-be astronaut who now heads the Apollo 11 launch program for NASA. He is no-nonsense and initially opposes Kelly's schemes. Cole's assistant is Henry Smalls (Ray Romano).

"Fly Me to the Moon" uses actual TV footage from earlier in the 1960s to introduce the space race between Russia and the United States and uses Walter Cronkite commentary numerous times to lend authenticity.

"Fly Me to the Moon" has much unrealized potential but falls way short. It can't decide if it's a comedy or a drama. It's at least 30 minutes too long. Johansson and Tatum have so little chemistry that it's hard to believe their relationship. There are funny pieces of dialogue throughout, but they're too far apart. Some subplots could easily have been dropped.

I did not want to see this movie. This was a secret screening of the film, so the audience had no idea what was coming on in the theater beforehand. We only knew what it would be once the title splashed across the screen.

I had my suspects, but I was hoping it would not be this.

I just didn't want to see it. Had no interest. And I knew how long it was and I didn't want to sit through it.

I physically reacted with disappointment inside the theater when I saw this was it.

My feelings were palpable.

But I'm cheap. And i can be lazy. I don't want to lose money on this deal and I'm not asking for my money back. I've never walked out of a film, ever.

So, stuck as I was, I strapped myself in much like the astronauts in this movie.

I previously stated all this hatred to say that even as an unwilling participant in this, I actually kinda-sorta liked it when it was all over.

Sorta-kinda.

A little bit.

Don't get too carried away.

So, if a dude like me, who had absolutely no plans of ever seeing this in the theater (or even ever!) or even paying his own money to do so can find a granule of enjoyment here, than the masses that do want to see this are going to be, yes, I'm going to say it... Over the moon.

This is not a bad movie.

Not at all.

How could it be?

Look at the cast!

Channing Tatum.

Scarjo!

Woody Harrelson.

And speaking of looks, just look at it!

Wow.

It is totally the 1960's.

This whole movie just looks amazing.

You are transported to that time and place most certainly. And outer space as well.

And there's a cute black kitty cat!

Oh, I love and adore black cats!

They are one of my favorite things on this planet!

I found myself, yes, me, laughing out loud inside the theater, genuine belly laughter a few times.

I'm for real! Me!

These three (Tatum, Johansson, and Harrelson) are wonderful and believable in their roles.

Even now as I write this, I realize how much I liked this film and how powerful its underlying message really is.

Men can fail.

But they have to try again. Even when the results prior were catastrophic.

A woman can bring that man strength and inspire him to go farther.

A good man can make a better woman too.

And a black cat is not bad luck.

They're beautiful, loyal and fun.

Strap yourselves in.

Prepare for liftoff and some laughs.

Time has no meaning in space.

Was the moon landing achieved by the NASA team on July 20, 1969 real or is it one of the biggest lies ever told by the United States government? For years, thousands of people have doubted this question. Rumors about the falsity of the images broadcast live on television have overshadowed for decades what would be one of the greatest achievements of engineering: the arrival of human beings to the Moon.

In this film, director Greg Berlanti, known for his somewhat inconsequential romantic comedies, delivers one more film to his credit of... well, just that: inconsequential romantic comedies. The premise could certainly be interesting: an excellent marketer is hired by the U. S. government to generate in American society a revival of interest in space missions, after interest had fallen precipitously following the Apollo 1 disaster in which three astronauts tragically died in January 1967. Her mission? Get into the depths of minds and hearts through advertising to generate expectation towards the Apollo 11 mission, which would try again to take three astronauts to the Moon, and, through that, get the government to continue financing the space programs in a Cold War that put the U. S. in a space confrontation against the U. S. S. R.

The problem with the story is that Rose Gilroy's script makes everything forcefully comedic-romantic-false. It was his first job as a screenwriter and it seems to me that the inexperience is evident, with a somewhat misplaced narrative, without a clear direction, which goes from sincere comedy, to cartoonish comedy with absurdly stereotyped characters, and from there to romance, but beyond to historical drama.

The cast, led by Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, does not work. I sincerely believe that the script does not clearly capture what type of characters the film wants, and the director did not help in giving them the proper guidance. If there is someone who is saved, it is precisely Scarlett Johansson, who does what she can with what she has, and she ends up being the most balanced of the entire group.

At the end? Will people be satisfied with this attempt to validate the official story of the moon landing? I don't think so, if anything the movie will only reignite rumors about how the entire broadcast was a setup and that the famous astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, never reached the Moon.