Magnificent Desolation - Walking on the Moon (IMAX)

Usually, IMAX films are a disappointing (and expensive) 40 minutes of droning narration interspersed with a few spectacular wide-angle shots of stunning scenery and spacious vistas. This film is even WORSE than most because all of the wide-frame scenery is CGI. The few clips of actual moon footage are framed and superimposed on less than 1/4 of the full screen, and total less than 15% of the entire film.

The production values and voice-over work are excellent, of course. But this DVD should be restricted by law to be shown only for elementary-school science class. I would have been happier with just narration and dialog over some stock NASA stills. If I could rate it lower than one star, I would. Not only did I waste 40 minutes of my life, I'm out $12 bucks. Which is about what I would have paid to see it in an IMAX theater. At least I got to watch it at home, and my shoes didn't get sticky.

Here's my imatation of Tom Hanks narrating this film:

Producer (handing the script to Hanks): Here, read this into the microphone.

Hanks: Am I getting paid? Okay!

If you saw the superb 2007 documentary, In the Shadow of the Moon, I am not certain what the point would be in viewing this forty-minute 2005 IMAX film - at least if you are old enough to remember the television coverage of the Apollo missions. The former film includes spectacular archival footage of those missions and insightful on-camera interviews with ten of the surviving astronauts. This one is aimed more directly as a motivational film for a youthful audience as it seeks to reignite the pioneering spirit that sparked the first space flights. NASA aficionado Tom Hanks wrote and produced (along with director Mark Cowen) this enthralling if somewhat cursory look at what it took to get to the moon and what it will take to continue the legacy. The film not only recreates some of the actual Apollo lunar missions but also posits what could have happened had disaster struck. The result adds a suspenseful element obviously designed to engage younger viewers.

Hanks applies his storytelling skills to full dramatic effect during these fictitious interludes. They are intertwined with a whirlwind of facts presented in a breezy manner, an especially effective tactic in chronicling mankind's fascination with the moon since this film is meant to inspire as well as to educate. To reinforce the approach, there is a series of quick interviews with youngsters that bookend the featurette showing how the space race has completely preceded them and how it could be resuscitated for the next generation of lunar exploration which targets us back on the moon by 2016. A number of famous actors provide the voices of the astronauts - Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Paul Newman - but few are recognizable. The 3-D visual effects are lost on the 2007 DVD, though I think not as much as the elongated dimensions provided by an IMAX theater. Even more than the technical elements, what really brings the film together is Hanks' obvious enthusiasm for the subject. The DVD includes additional video footage and photographs from the Apollo 11 mission plus a trivia game.

I have dreamed about space travel and going to the Moon for much of my life. This film is quite imaginative and exhilirating.

I took my kids to see the IMAX version- we all were stunned silent by the drama that unfolded. You can read about this story many times, but actually feeling it is different.

-Tahir Rahman, author of We Came in Peace for all Mankind: the untold story of the Apollo 11 silicon disc

I saw this at an IMAX theater. I was hoping for real film of real astronauts. But it is almost all computer graphics which are not even all that good in a rather contrived 'docudrama' format. In addition the science is 'gradeschool' level stuff. You would be better off spending your money on 'Full Moon'. Its a book but the images are the real deal.

I went to see this movie at the pink palace IMAX in memphis and it was fantastic, I remember commenting after the show how it would be great on dvd and worthy of purchase. It was educational and had some great humor as well.