Film Review: MOONSHOT (2022): A Sweet Romantic Comedy but Too Little Zach Braff

Moonshot Review

Moonshot (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Christopher Winterbauer and written by Max Taxe and starring Cole Sprouse, Lana Condor, Zach Braff, Peter Woodward, Henson Milam, Lukas Gage, Sarah Stipe, Kabby Borders, Mason Gooding, Drez Ryan, Christine Adams, Chelsea Alana Rivera, Emily Rudd, Najah Bradley, Kathrine Barnes, Michelle Buteau and Cameron Esposito.

Director Christopher Winterbauer’s clever but predictable new comedy, Moonshot, imagines a world where life is sustainable on Mars thanks to the work of a billionaire named Leon Kovi (Zach Braff of Garden State). However, the downside is that you have to pretty much be a millionaire to travel there. The year is 2049 and we meet a young coffee shop worker (with a robot for a boss) named Walt (Cole Sprouse) who strikes up a conversation with a young female customer named Sophie (Lana Condor). She has a boyfriend named Calvin (Mason Gooding) who has gone to Mars to pursue his career. Soon, Walt manages to spice up his love life almost instantly with a pretty young lady named Ginny (Emily Rudd). One problem, though: She’s headed to Mars where she envisions a future for herself. What’s a young guy on Earth to do?

Moonshot is automatically a likable film thanks to the presence of the two main characters, Walt and Sophie. They manage to form a friendship which leads to Walt sneaking aboard the space shuttle Sophie has boarded to Mars. While both Sophie and Walt want to see their supposed significant others and be happy, they forge a friendship that is quite touching during the course of the early stages of the picture during their journey to Mars.

Sophie’s backstory surrounding her relationship with Calvin is given some screen time and proves to be very moving. Sophie lost her family as a teenager and Calvin’s family took her in which led her to become the woman she is today. She has a good bond with Walt but she has resigned herself to a life with Calvin especially by going to Mars to be with him. In contrast, Walt is a lost soul who finds a connection with both Ginny and Sophie and Walt believes Ginny will welcome his surprise visit to her on Mars with open arms.

There’s no question that Sprouse and Condor are remarkably well cast and have some sweet chemistry on screen but both of their characters are promised to others in the movie making a romance between them in the film difficult to happen. When the space shuttle lands on Mars, we finally meet Leon and while Braff is fun in his role, it feels like he is immensely underused here. Braff has a great line in the film though when he says, “I’m a billionaire. I don’t pay taxes.” Braff’s character is really a catalyst for the plot to happen as it does in the film and I enjoyed seeing Braff on the screen again in an offbeat project. He just has way too little screen time and that was a bit of a disappointment.

There are some fun supporting performers on board. Michelle Buteau as Captain Tarter, in particular, stands out and possesses a quirky personality in a film filled with cleverness. Emily Rudd makes the most of her rather small appearance in the movie but is certainly still a talented actress nevertheless with tremendous charm to spare. This is Lana Condor’s film, however, from beginning to end. While Cole Sprouse shines beside her, Condor’s work is the reason to see the movie. She has tremendous personality which reveals itself as the movie progresses and her character has a big heart and the movie is filled with emotional scenes towards the conclusion that are pretty endearing to watch.

Moonshot is an overall good time but could have been so much more. I personally felt that Zach Braff could have been a bigger part of the movie and that his character was underwritten. If you want to see an attractive romance, though, with two bright up-and-coming stars, then Moonshot could be your ticket. Watching Lana Condor go through her comic paces and also add emotional depth to her truly likable character is a pleasure and she’s certainly an actress to watch.

Rating: 6.5/10

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