Can a conspiracy theory be romantic? That’s the peculiar question lukewarm rom-com Fly Me To the Moon attempts to answer. Set in the weeks leading up to the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, Scarlett Johansson plays Kelly, a fast talking PR executive brought in to sell the moon landing to the American public.
While her efforts initially put her at odds with the mission’s straight-laced flight director, Owen (Channing Tatum), romance soon blooms between the pair. However, that bond is strained by Kelly’s secret government mission to stage the film landing as a back up if something goes wrong.
It’s hard to imagine who thought this combination of ideas would make for a good movie. The factual magic of the moon landing is jettisoned for a fictional story that plays into a long-held conspiracy theory that Apollo 11 was faked. Worse still, the romance that takes precedence over it isn’t especially engaging. Both characters come across as cold and calculating – Tatum’s war veteran is needlessly prickly, while Johansson’s introduction as someone who uses her feminine wiles to get ahead in a male-dominated industry doesn’t feel sympathetic, or even clever.
This makes their respective arcs tedious, and the twists are underwhelming when you consider the real life action that has been relegated to the background. To give director Greg Berlanti some credit, he has used Apple Studios’ substantial budget to create a look and feel that is authentically 1960s. The costumes are sharp, and the rockets impressive before you’re yanked away to focus on the drab comedy.
There’s certainly room for period pieces to play fast and loose with the facts, but Fly Me To The Moon throws history out the window just to play it safe with a trope filled romance that fails to launch.
• Fly Me To The Moon is in cinemas now