Fly Me to the Moon will catch many people off guard. Perhaps it’s the amount of publicity that went into promoting the film (which wasn’t much). Perhaps it’s the cast (Channing Tatum, Woody Harrelson, Ray Romano, Scarlett Johannson) not really knocking anyone’s socks off. Perhaps the biggest tell about the film came when we learned that Johannson was originally going to serve as just a producer on the film but upon reading over the script, immediately decided she had to play the female lead, Kelly Jones. It’s in a way reminiscent of what took place when John Krasinski was writing A Quiet Place and Emily Blunt did that exact same thing. When something is that well written, it catches everyone’s eye. Rose Gilroy’s words and Greg Berlanti’s direction make Fly Me to the Moon make one of the best films of 2024. Certainly, don’t see how it’s not at least in everyone’s top 15 at year’s end.
The film centers around the race to the moon and the United States obsession with beating the Russians by any means necessary, whether it be in reality or just in the perception of the world. This is where Kelly Jones come into our story as an advertising maven who is brought on the sell the world on America’s needs to be 1st to the moon. Little did she realize that the government also had her in mind to lead project Artemis (the backup plan if the moon landing didn’t go as planned). Harrelson a government official named Moe Burkus who seems to the messenger between the White House and NASA as Apollo 11 became closer to reality. Tatum plus Cole Davis, the launch commander for Apollo 11, who is dealing with own set of demons due to his connection to NASA’s past failures.
The strength of the film is not only in its writing, but in the chemistry of the film’s ensemble. Johansson, Harrelson, and Tatum are terrific together. Johannson really is the star of the film. One of her finer performances to date and which will catch of the eye of many critics down the road during award season voting.
Dewey Singleton has been reviewing new releases in television and film for many years. Dewey's reviews have been heard in multiple markets (Houston Atlanta, Tampa). Dewey's past work has been with awardswatch.com, awardsradar.com, and bleeding cool. Dewey is a proud member of the CCA.