I found the film named above by chance earlier today so I conducted a google search but could not find a free copy of this film, annoying, so I had to put my hand in my pocket to rent a viewing. Hammer Films in space and why would I not be interested, British sci-fi has always been a favourite for me and this was a film I had never seen before.
I was expecting wacky, groovy outfits for the actresses and a bonus, Catherine Schell stars in the film, and I was not disappointed. Moon Zero Two has to contain some of the most far out man! Yeah baby! Ladies fashion and hair sculptures of the late 60s and I loved it being a connoisseur of fashion of that time.
Set in the year 2021, and released in the same year, compared to the deadly slow Marooned directed by Robert Altman, and Journey to the Far Side of the Sun produced by Gerry Anderson, Hammer Films’ tongue-in-cheek space adventure was a breath of fresh air.
With small cities on the Moon, regular shuttles from Earth, and a race to claim all the mineral riches it sounds all but an old fashion gold rush. The crew of spaceship Moon Zero Two earn their money by salvaging space junk but are also the only independent space vehicle for hire. Everyone advises Captain Kemp (James Olsen) to sign up with the Space Corporation and become a commercial passenger pilot but he refuses because he did not become an astronaut to ferry a bunch of rich people.
Captain Kemp finds shady millionaire J.J. Hubbard (Warren Mitchell) yes Alf Garnett as a salvaged job for him to crash an asteroid on the far side of the Moon, which would be illegal. The asteroid is made of a precious and valuable metal made of sapphire, which could be used for the next generation of space engines.
Clementine Taplin (Catherine Schell) also hires him to look for her brother, who has a claim on the far side of the moon but they find him dead, Hubbard is the chief suspect. Kemp is having a busy few days, and he has to dodge the attention of the Moon Sheriff who happens to be his girlfriend!
Using the western/gold rush tag the story gives you gunfights with six-shooters, claim-jumping, and a bar-room brawl, while accurately predicting life fifty years on. Plastic money, laptop computers, sub-surface ice, and solar energy are now a reality. Only the designs date the film, not the story. Spookily, even the date rings true, as NASA are gearing up for more Moon shots by 2020.
The baddies are your typical money-grabbers and monolithic corporations, and the race for space is now purely economic. Exploration will only happen if it is for economic gain.
The impressive sets are huge for a Hammer Film, though the visual FX are not so consistent. The spaceship is not bad, the wirework space walks and slow-motion low gravity work OK. The most obvious effect is the moon bug tractor – the model looks like a toy, which is a shame as it crosscuts with an impressive full-scale version. Of course, they did not have the budget that Kubrick had.
I found the film very watchable, with likeable characters and a fast-moving story. See the picture of the cool Monopoly board featured in the film.
My Rating
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