Moon (2009)

SPOILER WARNING!!! This post spoils movie Moon (2009). This is one of those movies better seen unspoiled. So, if you like scifi and haven't seen this movie, you should watch it before reading this post.

This is quite extreme example of employer not caring for its employers. They make three year contracts to send workers into solitude of far side of the moon. Worker is there alone to maintain machinery, that collects fuel to be sent to earth. What is even more profitable is to use clones. You don't have to pay clone, if you kill him, when contract ends. No-one will blame you for anything, if no-one knows and no-one knows you are using clones.

Clones are programmed to think they are real people working on three year contract. Their body is planned to fail when three-year contract ends. Then they get into hibernation chamber which kills them. After killing, next clone is waken and he starts his scripted life with Earth. To make everything realistic, they have created wife and daughter storyline based on original person's wife and kid. It is told, that clones have implanted memories. Why give clone memories, where he has wife and kid and make him want to get back home? It is like torture. Why they didn't give him memories, which make him happy to on far side of the moon, cut away from rest of the humanity. Or even better, make him think he is part of different kind of society, where his work is honourable thing and make him proud of what he does.

It is not clear to me, why clone even has to be there. During the movie, he didn't do anything machines couldn't do. There was separate team, that fixed the machines, when they malfunctioned. There was intelligent robot, which could manage the communication. Even if they didn't have to pay the clone, they had to provide him with food and stuff. It is interesting, that intelligent robot is only one that thinks clones more that just usable tool. Robot is capable to make its own decisions, when he helps clones instead of reporting clones know they are clones.

This movie missed opportunity to show, what it does to world's economy, when employers want to do things with as little employees as possible. We are currently seeing that tested in western counties. They outsource their work to cheaper countries. I don't remember seeing scifi movies, which studies that. That is kind of missed opportunity in scifi movie genre as whole.

Movie happens on moon. There are only clones and intelligent robot. We don't see much of outside world. Everything we see, we see on monitors, that show pre-recorded videos. This is mainly Sam Rockwell movie with Kevin Spacey voice acting to support him. Sam Rockwell plays the clones, while Kevin Spacey is monotonic voice of intelligent robot. Everyone else has really small roles and we see them only on monitors or in spacesuits. Intelligent robot doesn't look like human and has only small monitor, which shows robot's emotions as smiley faces.

This post may give too negative picture of the movie. It is because movie is not that rewatchable. You get everything interesting first two times. After that you start to spot missed opportunities. I watched this third time now. First two times this is a great movie. After that only good.