Moonshot is one of the latest films to premiere on HBO Max, and it is Chris Winterbauer’s second film as a director. This romantic comedy stars Cole Sprouse and Lana Condor as our duet, with Mason Gooding, Emily Rudd, and Zach Braff rounding out the rest of the cast!
Moonshot is based in 2049, where humans are able to travel to Mars through Kovi Industries. Earth is dealing with climate change, as well as trash, and has been left in the dust in favor of colonizing Mars. Walt (Sprouse) is a student who applied to the Kovi Industries Student Mars Program and received rejections 37 times. Sophie (Condor) is a student who remains on Earth while her family and her boyfriend are on Mars. Sophie and Walt run into each other the night before a ship to Mars, and the rest is the movie.
Winterbauer’s directing in Moonshot is fairly good. The scenes all flow together quite nicely, and they even draw your eye to some of the space scenery. For this being his second film, it really works, and it’s an impressive romantic comedy. The script by Max Taxe is less than impressive but makes for a great cheesy rom-com. Certain portions had me banging my head against the wall, but there’s a lot of cheese, and that is the best of a feel-good romantic comedy.
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Cheese in a romantic comedy to me is defined as hitting some of the classic tropes, along with laughter, and chemistry between the two leads. Enemies to lovers, forced close proximity, there’s a lengthier list, but this one hits all of those marks. Sprinkled into the mix are some typical young adult tropes such as finding who you truly are. Additionally, Sprouse and Condor have fantastic chemistry together, and I loved every minute of the film they were on screen.
One thing I can’t understand about this film is its title. The definition of “moonshot” is an ambitious scheme, which does follow the plot of the film. But for a film that has a key feature of space travel *to Mars* and no mention of the moon, it perplexed me as to why the title was what it was.
Overall, Moonshot is delightful. It’s simple, fun, and gives us a journey between two stars who give their all to their performances. The science-fiction elements of the film don’t overwhelm the main elements of the romantic comedy. This isn’t a film for the ages, no one will tell you that. But it is one that will help someone on a gloomy day get through the rigors of life, and bring comfort in the stability of what the film brings. The tension is not huge. Just the simple joy of seeing someone find their person, and that’s what makes the rom-com genre special. – Katie Rentschler
Rating: 7/10
Moonshot is currently streaming on HBO Max.
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