There has long been a conspiracy theory that the moon landing in 1969 never actually happened. Well, The Moonwalkers is banking on exactly that. Sent by the CIA after just coming back from Vietnam with PTSD, Kidman (Ron Perlman) is sent to England on a very important, very secret mission. He's to find acclaimed film director Stanley Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey), and pay him to help them film a fake moon landing in case the real one doesn't actually happen. Mistakenly, Kidman assumes Jonny (Rupert Grint), a lowly band manager who owes lots of money to some violent people, handles Kubrick's dealings. Jonny doesn't correct him and ends up taking the money and using his best friend Leon (Robert Sheehan) to pose as Kubrick.
Moonwalkers enjoys mocking the entire idea of a conspiracy, but by the end implants a seed of doubt among its characters about what's real and what isn't. Writer Dean Craig (the American version of Death at a Funeral) spends too much time, however, playing things up for mediocre laughs and outrageous shenanigans while slowly getting to the finale. The setup takes too long and grows cumbersome and it's easy to grow tired of it after 45 minutes. Paired with Perlman's PTSD, the film turns itself into a weird sort-of action film and all the fight scenes don't fit the tone at all and feel very out of place.
However, the partnership between Perlman, Rupert Grint, and Robert Sheehan works. They each have their own thing going on and their own goals (with the exception of Sheehan, really, as his character is always high on weed and opium). Their interactions with each other are ripe with discontent, acceptance, and lots of bickering, which alleviates the slow-paced plot at some points. Sheehan continues to prove that he's an actor who should be in more films and Grint proves once more that he isn't only capable of being Ron Weasley.
Some of the scenes in the film are put together to make you feel like you're experiencing an acid trip. It's all very '60s and everything from the clothing to the drugs and rock band stereotypes exemplify what the era has become known for. The film itself is silly and on occasion fun, but it doesn't quite gain any momentum once the plot finally gets going, so Moonwalkers could have been a lot better if it hadn't lacked so much focus.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
