Moonfall Plot Synopsis
It’s the end of the world as we know it. Again! Yes, Roland Emmerich is back and this time he’s decided to pull the moon out of orbit (in the film, at least) to bring about more scenes of global devastation. Luckily for humankind, Patrick Wilson’s space pilot, Halle Berry’s Head of NASA, and John Bradley’s conspiracy theorist all set off into the stars to stop the moon from falling and save mankind. Hooray!
But do they survive their journey? And more importantly, do the people back on Earth outlive the catastrophes that are starting to happen around them? Let’s take a closer look at Emmerich’s latest disaster movie.
Who discovers the moon is falling?
K.C. Houseman (John Bradley), a conspiracy theorist and megastructure expert, sneaks a look through a research telescope and makes the unfortunate discovery that the moon has fallen out of orbit. Understandably panicked, he tries to let NASA and former astronaut Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) know of his findings but is immediately dismissed as a crackpot.
However, it’s not long before his findings are proven correct. Massive floods caused by the shift in the moon’s position affect the Earth and Brian is washed up in one of them. This gives him reason to believe in what K.C. told him.
NASA also discovers something is going wrong with the moon and sends astronauts up into space to investigate. On arrival, they find a deep hole in one of the moon’s craters and as they take a closer look, a mysterious swarm flies out and attacks the shuttle. Unfortunately, the astronauts are killed when the shuttle is destroyed.
What is K.C.’s theory?
K.C. believes the moon is an artificial structure that has been created by aliens. He thinks the moon has shifted its course because of an internal energy core that has stopped working effectively. His theory sounds crazy but for some reason, Brian starts to buy into what he is saying.
Meanwhile, Jocinda (Halle Berry), the Deputy Head of NASA, is also starting to believe the moon isn’t the giant piece of space rock that everybody thought it was. After witnessing the death of the astronauts from a live feed, it becomes clear to her that something strange is happening up above.
Does NASA take action?
Jocinda becomes Head of NASA after the previous Director decides to flee to safety and she orders a retired space shuttle to be brought back into service. She takes it upon herself to fly into space with Brian and K.C. to find out what is going wrong. They take an EMP detonator with them to deal with the swarm that seems to exist within the confines of the moon.
What do they find beneath the moon’s surface?
As our heroes get closer to the moon, they manage to draw the swarm out of one of the craters. They try to blow this mysterious force up but their plans fail. After evading danger, they fly into the moon and discover that K.C. was right and that it is, in fact, an artificial structure with an energy source at the centre.
As they fly deeper into the moon, they discover the presence of alien-looking spaceships, one of which pulls their craft into an interior chamber away from the swarm outside.
Isn’t this just Independence Day all over again?
No, as it turns out the spaceships don’t belong to an alien species but rather an advanced human race that created a number of megastructures (including the moon) to help find them new planets that were suitable for human life.
Unfortunately, the AI they created to run these megastructures went rogue and started to destroy the structures they were a part of. The advanced humans sent one structure (the moon) away before it could be destroyed and this enabled life to be created on the Earth. For many years everything was fine until the AI discovered the location of the moon and set out to destroy it. The presence of this rogue AIÂ is what caused the moon to shift position.
So, the world is doomed, right?
Potentially but after Brian learns of the existence of the advanced humans through some kind of mysterious consciousness within the structure, he is told to sacrifice his life for the future of mankind. He is instructed to fly a shuttle into the swarm to destroy it with the EMP and restore the moon in the process. Brian tells Jocinda and K.C. this but they are less than pleased when they learn Brian will be killed.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, the moon’s change in gravitational pull is causing all-out chaos. Huge chunks of debris are being dropped from the sky, the world is starting to freeze over, and people are fighting with one another as they struggle to survive. Brian and Jocinda’s family members are among the survivors but with the changes to the world’s atmosphere, time is running out for those who are trying to take shelter.
Does mankind survive another global disaster?
Brian is prepared to sacrifice his life for the sake of mankind but K.C. is having none of it. With less to lose on Earth, he decides to detonate the EMP and wipe out the swarm while Brian and Jocinda escape on the ship.
As K.C. takes a giant leap to save mankind, the others flee the structure and make their way to Earth. On arrival, they reunite with their families and take a moment to look up at the moon which has now been restored to its rightful place. Presumably, life on Earth will now return to normality too.
Is K.C. really dead?
Erm…not quite! While his body has presumably been blown up into a thousand bits, his consciousness has been rescued by whatever presence was within the moon. As the movie closes, we see him united with his mother and his cat, Fuzz Aldrin, but these are likely alternate versions that have been created by the structure’s programming.
Confused? Well, it’s not surprising. This is one movie that doesn’t have a lot of logic behind it and trying to describe events isn’t easy. It’s best to turn your brain off if you decide to watch it as you might give yourself a headache otherwise!
Read More: Moonfall Movie Review
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