Conspiracy theories are always very interesting. Often not even because they might be true, but actually because they show how creative people can be in coming up with an explanation for something. You don´t even have to look further than a documentary like Room 237 to find out that even one movie by Stanley Kubrick (in this case The Shining) can be the starting point for all kinds of interpretations, the one even stranger as the other. One of them was that The Shining contains hints which prove that Kubrick filmed the moon landing. This is the theory Moonwalkers takes as its starting point and is about the Americans wanting to hire Kubrick to shoot the moon landing in case the real mission fails. Is that strong enough to base a comedy on?
Jonny (Rupert Grint, you know, the guy from Harry Potter) works as a rockgroup promoter who can’t seem to help them be successful and thus doesn’t earn any money himself. He has trouble making ends meet and when he meets CIA-agent Kidman (Ron Perlman), who is looking for Stanley Kubrick and is willing to pay a lot of money, he sees a chance to get rich. He convinces a friend of his to pretend he’s Kubrick, in order to get the money and live the life they are dreaming of. Reality is different though when not only Kidman is hunting them down, but local gangsters as well.
Moonwalkers is best described as an action comedy which has a vibe similar to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Perlman is perfect casting in his role as violent CIA-agent. Grint felt like he was doing the same thing as in the Potter movies and didn’t convince me that he is able to play other type of roles. The story itself has its fun moments, but as a whole the movie doesn’t manage to stay entertaining. If you like Perlman’s work than there is some enjoyment here, the goes fort he action, but unfortunately the basic idea behind it isn’t strong enough to result in a satisfying product.
