Fly Me to the Moon - Movie Review

 A rom-com starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum was never on my watch radar for 2024, but after a press screening invitation, I thought I would give ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ a try. Despite it not offering anything too new for the genre and not being a memorable film as such, there is still enjoyment to be had in this somewhat charming rom-com.

Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum in 'Fly me to the Moon'

The film follows marketing maven Kelly Jones (Johansson) as she is brought in to fix NASA's public image, but clashes with Cole Davis' (Channing Tatum) already difficult, high-stakes Apollo 11 moon landing. This film, in general, is fun. The concept is unique, and it at times embraces this, despite utilizing conventions in the genre a little too much. Though what I like most about the narrative is it brings in a few unpredictable plot points that show this film can stand on its own two feet. It's got some nice jokes, and the characters are likable even though they are somewhat unrealistic. I mean, no one in our world would fly into a marketing job at NASA as quickly as Kelly Jones; it's just not how it works.

Though what left me disappointed with the film was its narrative. It's got a very basic narrative structure, but its length has been stretched out for no apparent reason. The whole main plot point of a 'fake moon landing' is only introduced about 75 minutes plus into the film, showing how prolonged the storyline is. There is no way this film had to be over 2 hours long.

'Fly me to the Moon's' length lets it down. 

This length will also make people fall out of love with the movie very quickly. There are some extremely long and straight-up boring exposition sequences that take you out of the charm of the lead comic-romance that is on display, and may ultimately put general moviegoers to sleep because the movie just won't speed up until the 3rd act, but by then (and despite how entertaining these last few scenes might have been) most of the audience really just wouldn’t care.

Johansson and Tatum's chemistry is great, however. It's like they were born to star in rom-coms due to the charm and charisma on display from both starring roles. It’s just a shame that the script wasn't as engaging. The VFX team and set designers also do a great job of re-creating a 1960s NASA backdrop. You will really be able to transport yourself back to the times here.

The films set design does an impressive job of encapsulating the time period.

Though, through fusing classic rom-com tropes with some positive technical aspects, ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ is ultimately just a decent watch. Tatum and Johansson's charm carries the movie into areas of fun, but at the end of the day, this is a forgettable flick because of its prolonged nature.

OVERALL SCORE: 6.7/10 - PASSABLE