About Apollo 18 (2011)
Officially, Apollo 17, launched December 17th, 1972 was the last manned mission to the moon. But a year later, in December of 1973, two American astronauts were sent on a secret mission to the moon funded by the US Department of Defense. What you are about to see is the actual footage which the astronauts captured on that mission. While NASA denies its authenticity, others say it’s the real reason we’ve never gone back to the moon.
Directed by: Gonzalo López-Gallego
Runtime: 88 minutes
Studio: The Weinstein Company and Anchor Bay Entertainment
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Review: Apollo 18
It’s The Blair Witch Project meets Apollo 13 in Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego’s sci-fi horror. The premise is that the Apollo 18 mission was never really cancelled and actually went to the moon but things went wrong. The film is made up of supposedly discovered footage of astronauts Commander Nathan Walker (Lloyd Owen), Lieutenant Colonel John Grey (Ryan Robbins) and Captain Ben Anderson (Warren Christie) who head to the moon to place missile detectors to warn of attacks from the USSR. While Grey remains in orbit, Walker and Anderson land on the moon and soon discover that they are not alone.
I remember seeing the trailer for Apollo 18 and thinking it looked really good. The reality sadly turned out to be very different. Walker and Anderson soon find all is not well on the moon. Footage shows strange movement which disturbs the odd rock, bangs can be heard on the lunar module Walker and Anderson are sheltered in and one day they find footsteps in the moon’s surface that are not their own. The discovery of a Russian LK Lander on the moon with the interior stained with blood just adds to the mystery. The solitary Russian astronaut is found dead in a crater nearby. Some threat exists on the moon but what is it?
I found Apollo 18 to be a huge disappointment. While it begins with some intrigue this isn’t an especially engaging film and the characters are not really fleshed out enough to care about what happens to them. The film is said to be the reason why no one has gone back to the moon and the trailer suggested something very malevolent waiting for the crew of Apollo 18. It isn’t long before we discover what is there and it’s nothing original or special really. I didn’t find this as tedious as The Blair Witch Project but the ending was a let-down.
Apollo 18 really captured my interest with the trailer but the real experience is not a great one unfortunately. While you may be initially curious about what is going on the film soon descends into familiar territory and with a group of pretty one dimensional characters you won’t be especially concerned whether they live or die in the end.
Verdict: 2/5
(Film source: reviewer’s own copy)
Film Review: Apollo 18 | Thank you for reading Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave
