6 Reasons You Should Want To See Moon

The brand new trailer for Sam Rockwell-starring sci-fi psychodrama Moon has arrived online.

Directed by Duncan Jones, Moon finds Astro-drone Sam Bell (Rockwell) nearing the end of a lonely three-year shift on a power processing station, sending canisters of fusion power to help the Earth recover from its energy crisis.

But two weeks before he’s due to come home, he discovers something very strange. And we won’t say anymore for fear of spoilers.

The new poster is below. Now click through to check out the trailer and five clips from the movie.

Oh, and spoilerphobes? If you don't want to learn anything, beware of the footage...

It harkens back to classic ‘70s sci-fi

How many recent sci-fi movies evoke the spirit of 2001 or Silent Run? Not many. With sparse-yet grungy production design that also puts us in mind of the Millennium Falcon, by design.

It’s much more retro,” Jones told SpoutBlog. “It’s almost a late ’70s, ’80s version of what the future is. But it still feels relevant to me, because it’s kind of gritty and it’s blue collar and it’s a human story. The technology has a believable functional aesthetic to it.”

Which brings us to…

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Kevin Spacey is the new HAL

Sam Bell’s only companion on his solitary lunar stint is Gurney, the robot assistant. Gurney is there to help Sam out with every day chores- and even cuts his hair.

Voiced by Kevin Spacey, Gurney provides the perfect – and perfectly unsettling monotone that follows Sam through his days. And from just what we hear in the clips, Spacey nails it.

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It’s some thing very different

In a summer of huge SF blockbusters, we’re thinking this will provide something completely fresh.

While we’re still anticipating the big-budget likes of Transformers, Terminator and Trek, Moon is offering low-fi, sci-fi with a moody, atmospheric tone.

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It blends CG with traditional effects techniques .

Even though computer effects are getting cheaper all the time, the director’s lower budget meant he had to get more creative.

Says Jones: “There is some CG in the interiors, but the exteriors were a totally different ballgame. We used a very traditional model, a miniatures technique for the lunar surface and the vehicles travelling across it. Then we would use digital set extensions to actually make the landscape go off into the distance and to create the sky itself.”

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It’s grounded in science fact.

True, it’s a fictional tale, but Jones got advice from experts to make the physics surrounding the film as real as possible. And the futuristic-seeming power technology is also based on proper theories.

“The situation depicted, that there is not enough helium on the earth, is a fact,” says the director. “And it is also a fact that there is plentiful supply of helium three on the moon. So, starting from there it makes sense. Mining the moon for helium three is a real possibility.”

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Matt Berry is in it.

“Matt who?” we hear some of you ask. And we laugh heartily, in a deep throaty style at the question. Berry’s best known for his work in Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace and the last couple of seasons of The IT Crowd.

We don’t yet know what role Berry’s playing in Moon – heck, we don’t want to know, and clap our hands over our ears, shouting “lalalalalaaaa” whenever any of the team who went to Sundance try to talk about it.

But we just know the man is a force of pure awesome comedy, which, if he’s now turning his attention to drama, makes us even more excited.

James White is a freelance journalist who has been covering film and TV for over two decades. In that time, James has written for a wide variety of publications including Total Film and SFX. He has also worked for BAFTA and on ODEON's in-cinema magazine.