Have you ever seen a trailer for a film where the production company behind that particular movie is a major red flag? For example, whenever I see a release from Sony (i.e. Columbia Pictures and Screen Gems, just to name a few), I immediately start to have some reservations. Now, I know that sounds a bit superstitious, which is not a healthy feeling for a Catholic, but Sony’s track record hasn’t been the greatest as of late. Just including this year alone, we had Madame Webb, which was down right horrible; The Garfield Movie, which was mediocre at best, and this is coming from a huge Garfield fan; and while Boy Boys: Ride or Die was decent,  I didn’t have any major expectations with that film given it’s a sequel with returning directors. The reason I bring this up is because they recently have released a film based on the Apollo 11 mission called Fly Me to the Moon.

Now, I know I sound a bit pessimistic and that I should treat film with an open mind. Further, Fly Me to the Moon is something that I should be intrigued in as the 1969 Apollo 11 mission happens to be one of my favorite events in American History. Yet, I still had some reservations for this film after I saw the trailer. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen so many movies and I’ve been deceived so many times that I can’t help but put my guard up for any movie I see. Though, to be fair, I never fully criticize a film until I’ve seen it in its entirety. It’s one of my golden rules ever since I began critiquing films, and I plan to keep doing that, especially with this film. Was my initial thoughts on Fly Me to the Moon justified due to the a particular studio releasing it or was I just overeacting? As usual, let’s find out.

In Fly Me to the Moon, we primarily follow two characters: Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) and Cole Davis (Channing Tatum). Kelly is a woman with a mysterious past who knows how to con people, and is able to get by in 1960s New York. She eventually gets caught somewhat by Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson), who happens to work for the U.S. government where one of his connections is President Richard Nixon. Moe confronts Kelly about her alleged crimes that she may have committed, but instead of prosecuting, he instead offers her an opportunity to work for NASA (at the, Kennedy Space Center in Florida, specifically) as a marketing specialist. The idea is to get public opinion for NASA getting a man on the moon has dwindled mostly due to the Vietnam War and other issues, domestic and international. She agrees to the assignment as she hopes this job might expunge some of the things she has done in the past. When Kelly gets down to Florida, she meets Cole, who happens to be a central figure in NASA. Cole was once an inspiring astronaut and is a pilot himself, but didn’t make the cut. Instead of flying to the moon, Cole’s job is to get the three astronauts Neil Armstrong (Nick Dillenburg), Buzz Aldrin (Colin Woodell) and Michael Collins (Christian Zubar) safely on the moon. Excluding a friendly interaction at a diner where Kelly and Cole first meet, their relationship at Kennedy Space Center starts off a bit rocky. While Cole is trying to oversee the logistics of the space craft and the mission itself, Kelly unintentionally keeps interfering with his work, which irritates him to no end. Eventually, Cole begins to warm up to Kelly as her tactics start to sway public interest making it grow each day. However, as the movie progresses, Kelly receives a specific order from Moe that might lead to her past being brought up if she fails, but would jeopardize her relationship with Cole, and her status at the Kennedy Space Center.

So the good news after watching Fly Me to the Moon is that any red flags that I had before watching it were false alarms. This was reassuring because I went in with some hesitation, but in the end, I was able to enjoy because of me low expectations. Despite that, I did have some problems that prevented me from loving it, but more on that later. 

There are a few small things that I was able to enjoy right off the bat while watching Fly Me to the Moon, such as the cinematography and the overall look of the film itself. In retrospect, it shouldn’t come as a surprise since the film’s budget was $100 million. While those two things were a nice boost, the biggest highlight I want to focus on is the characters of Kelly and Cole.

Even though Kelly is someone that you shouldn’t initially trust, let alone like, because of her shady past, she shows character development and a bit of redemption, which is a trait I’m quite fond to in film. While there’s a cliche moment involving that redemption arc, it’s still nice to see in a major film. On the other side of the coin, Cole is someone I wasn’t sure of at first. I couldn’t get a reading on the type of character he was supposed to be, but as the film goes on, he’s someone I came to admire. Not only was he a solid and trustworthy person, he was someone who was focused on the mission and cares deeply for his work associates. One contributing factor was that he was part of the Apollo 1 mission where the three pilots involved were killed. This puts a heavy burden on him to honor the three men in any way he can, even to the point of threatening violence towards a reporter when negative things are said about them. One scene that was a favorite with Cole was his stance on faith. I won’t spoil anything, but it was a scene I thought was genuine as a Catholic.

I mentioned earlier that I had some problems with Fly Me to the Moon. The main issue with it is that the comedy feels out of place sometimes. I’m not saying it had to be straight up drama, but it didn’t mix well with the overall tone of the film. While I could’ve bypassed that thought if it was a shorter, its running time of over two hours did not have me laughing. Quite frankly, I’m getting tired of films being unnecessarily longer than they should be. I don’t mind lengthier films if it’s necessary, but this film didn’t validate it.

Overall, this romantic comedy period piece was a nice surprise and I would recommend Fly Me to the Moon to anyone who wants to learn more about the background of the Apollo 11 mission. Still, don’t take everything as factual as it is a mainstream movie where historical accuracy is usually not 100%. Despite the flaws I mentioned, I’m sure there are those who would definitely enjoy it more than me. While the red flag for this film was a false alarm, my skepticism of Sony films has not gone away as the next major film released by Sony is Harold and the Magic Purple Crayon. Watching the trailer for that one, I highly doubt that will be any good. Then again, I’ve been wrong before.