Watch Moon Zero Two For Free

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

One of Hammer's oddest films is this one, their sole foray into Science-Fiction, which has quite a maligned reputation but emerges to be reasonably tolerable under the circumstances. It obviously won't stand comparisons with the likes of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968), though still valuable for being one of the very first films to exploit the 1969 landing on the moon.The famed British studio were noted for making expensive-looking Gothic Horrors with limited means; here, however, the low budget shows through as the futuristic sets they came up with are rather shoddy! For what it's worth, the film does contain at least one Hammer-type image involving a space suit found to be inhabited by a skeleton. Incidentally, MOON ZERO TWO has been referred to as a Space Western (in view of its mining, dynamiting, discovery of a priceless mineral, claim-jumping and shoot-outs): so far so good…however, having an outer space saloon (complete with dancing cowgirls) in 2021 is beyond ridiculous! Peter Hyams had the good sense to forego such puerile shenanigans when he made his own 'Space Western' with Sean Connery, OUTLAND (1981).Having said that, It's undeniably superior to ZETA ONE (1969), which I watched recently, though still containing a definite camp factor – starting with the goofy animated credit sequence (accompanied by a decidedly infectious title tune) but extending to hilarious costumes and props…not to mention the presence of a dapper megalomaniac villain (by the way, as was the case with ZETA ONE itself, the cast features a member of the "Carry On" gang in Bernard Bresslaw, again, appearing as a baddie albeit a dimwitted brute!). Having mentioned the cast, Hammer stalwart Michael Ripper turns up here as well for one brief scene; as for the film's American lead, James Olson (with receding blond hair!) doesn't exactly set the screen on fire. It's interesting, though, that co-star Adrienne Corri would appear in Hammer's more traditional VAMPIRE CIRCUS (though still contriving a twist in its tail) and Kubrick's subsequent piece of sophisticated sci-fi, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, within the same year (1971).

Interesting effort here by the usually predictable Hammer Studios, best known for all those low budget Dracula movies with Christopher Lee and Frankenstein movies with Peter Cushing. Hammer actually worked in a number of genres during their heyday, with spy films and crime thrillers, wartime potboilers, pirate escapades. They had already crossed their usual horror motifs with a heavy dose of science fiction with their "Quatermass" series, but for whatever reason Hammer never made a traditional looking western, even though some of their principal talent had contributed to a couple. Too bad, I am sure they would have had an intriguing go at it.This was their compromise, a clearly 2001 inspired concoction mixing some of the more obvious elements of a western -- six guns, saloons, claim jumping gunslingers, a fetching damsel in distress, a cynical hero -- with the then familiar trappings of science fiction space epics. Space suits instead of cowboy attire, moon buggies instead of stagecoaches, and a lady moon sheriff who packs twin pistols in holsters attached to her thigh-high Go Go boots. Whatever. The idea was viable enough for Peter Hyams to revisit in a more sober manner with 1981's "Outland", a subtle remake of "High Noon" set at a mining complex on one of Jupiter's moons.The blend of genres will either go over well or create profound disbelief, as is evidenced by the film having been enshrined in Mystery Science Theater 3000's hall of fame of parody screenings with all those annoying, smug comments from the dorks in the front row superimposed on the screen. The film is silly enough in itself without their schtick (I'm not a big MST3K fan, sorry), and just as with Elvira, just because they choose to send up a given movie that doesn't mean it may not have some redeeming parts.This one does, mostly in an endearing willingness to try anything, and for Hammer what was actually a pretty significant budget that let them pull off some ingenious little effects sequences. My favorite touch are the little Moon Fargo buggies, which sure are radio controlled models in the long shots, but by golly they have a sort of charm about them that belies their phoniness. We forgive because in the context of the kind of entertainment we are looking at, namely 1960s European made science fiction, they work just fine.The story isn't much, but then again the whole show is in the production design, which as others point out apes Apollo era technologies as much as it does a 2001 inspired antiseptic, shiny rubberized look. Some may poke fun at the silly hairstyles and clumsy looking costumes, I say they fit in perfectly with the movie's aesthetic. There is even a healthy dose of realistic science thrown in alongside such recurring SF themes as artificial gravity, miniature space colonies, and foxy babes who casually strip down to their space age underwear once the air conditioning gives out.Newly re-released by Warner's on a double movie DVD along with the equally long overdue "When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth". Couldn't recommend them more, beats the crap out of anything currently projecting onto screens in empty theaters at the cineplexes in any event, and just stupid enough to warrant repeat casual guilty pleasure viewing.6/10

Moon Zero Two features two seemingly unrelated plot threads with Capt. William H. Kemp (James Olson) as their only connection. In the first, a distraught woman is looking for her brother, a miner on the far side of the moon. She enlists Capt. Kemp to help her by taking her to the brother's claim site. In the second, a very wealthy individual hires Capt. Kemp to help him catch an asteroid and bring it crashing to the moon's surface. The asteroid is actually a giant sapphire. It's near the end of the movie before Capt. Kemp is able to put the two pieces of the plot together, discover the brother's fate, and make a decision on helping with the sapphire plan.What Works: Acting: Overall, the acting in Moon Zero Two is a step above what I expected. But then again most Hammer films, regardless of any other shortcomings, generally featured above average acting. I was especially impressed by Catherine Schell and Warren Mitchell.Style: A lot of people knock it, but Moon Zero Two has more style going for it than a runway in Paris. If you liked the retro look of something like Austin Powers, you'll see the real thing in this movie. From the go-go dancers and their mod outfits to the far-out bar furnishing, the movie's got style to burn. I suppose the best example is the outfit worn by Catherine Schell when she makes her first screen appearance. Words cannot do it justice – suffice it to say that it is the epitome of 60s style.The narrative: As I've already indicated, Moon Zero Two features two seemingly unrelated plot threads that are brought together only near the film's end. While I watched the movie, I realized the plot would come together, but I never once guessed correctly how this was going to be pulled off. It's a clever bit of screen writing.What Didn't Work: James Olson: It's not that Olson is particularly bad in Moon Zero Two, but he lacks the qualities normally associated with the lead in a movie. He's just not a very interesting actor (a nice way to say "He's boring"). Someone with a little more pizazz would have been preferable.Pacing: The biggest single problem I had with Moon Zero Two is the movie's tendency to bog down and go nowhere for extended periods of time. There are great stretches of the film where nothing interesting at all is going on. A little tighter editing might have been a judicious choice.Music: I don't remember the last time I found a film score as annoying as the one in Moon Zero Two. I suppose it could be called freestyle jazz or something like that, but to me, it was just plain headache inducing. And it all seemed so inappropriate given the action on screen. For example, the two main characters might be riding across the moon's surface when out of nowhere the audience is treated to a random trumpet blast. Annoying! Overall, while there's much I did enjoy about Moon Zero Two, there's an equal amount that bothered me. But in this case, the "fun" factor wins out and I'll give it a 6/10.The copy of Moon Zero Two I have was aired as part of Mystery Science Theater 3000. This was a first season episode and it suffers like a lot of the early episodes from inconsistent riffing from the guys at MST3K. Some of the jokes are funny, but there's either not enough of them or they miss their mark. Either way, I found myself wanting to turn down the comedy track to pay attention to the movie. I'll rate Episode #111 a 2/5 on my MST3K rating scale.

This is one of the few Hammer films that (to my knowledge) never made it on to VHS. Now with Anchor Bay releasing most of the Hammer Collection on to DVD, I'd like to see them release this one as well. I saw this in 1970 when I was a little kid, and one of the most hilarious things I remember about it was seeing the rock band from the time period when the movie was in production, playing as aged old men rock stars in the future. It kinda reminds me of the old rock stars from the 60s and 70s playing the same thing today, who haven't changed at all except their age.I'm not gonna rate it at this time because I haven't seen it in so long, but I'll be looking forward to it if and when it comes out. Just don't take it seriously like some of the other reviews below. It's only escapist fare.And never mind the MST2K crap. The film isn't that bad to deserve that kind of treatment.