Roland Emmerich! A name that no one in Hollywood takes seriously these days. Maybe they never did. From Universal Soldier to Moonfall, the director’s directional filmography is decorated with loads of critical failures. Yes, some of his films have worked as big cash grabs for many production studios. But the remaining ones came out only to test the patience of moviegoers.
Emmerich’s latest project, Moonfall, is one of the most expensive independent movies ever. The plot revolves around an ex NASA astronaut, Brain Harper, who discovered a mysterious black swarm in space. That swarm kills one of his crewmates during his mission. No one at NASA believes them. As a result, he gets fired. Ten years later, a conspiracy theorist, Houseman, finds out that the Moon is getting closer to Earth every passing day. Soon, they both unearth the connection between that infamous black swarm and the displacement of the Moon from its orbit with the help of Jo Fowler, the current Deputy Director of NASA.
Yes, the plot looks messy and stupid. And the same can be said about the movie as well. It is set to become a big commercial failure at the global box office. There is no doubt in admitting that it will have a hard time during its theatrical run. Furthermore, it will be very difficult for the film to emerge as a success against its $138-$146 million budget.
Emmerich’s last blockbuster came out more than 12 years ago in the form of a sci-fi disaster project, 2012. Since then, the director has failed to get his hands on a decent box office hit. His previous directional, Midway, showed some promise. Still, it was not enough to establish the director as a big deal in Hollywood.
Movies like Godzilla, Stargate, 10,000 BC, 2012, Anonymous, White House Down, Stonewall, and the Independence Day sequel are nothing except a torture ride. The first Independence Day movie and The Patriot are the only decent entries in Emmerich’s filmography. And it is not like his movies have not received criticism from critics and viewers. Most of his projects rely on impressive visual effects and cliched dialogues. Furthermore, we see nonsensical plots, scientific inaccuracies, lack of character depth, and many more horrible elements in his movies.
Emmerich has openly stated that he doesn’t care about movie critics. His only purpose is to entertain his audience in any way possible. But it doesn’t mean he possesses the right to torment the viewers with his terrible directional projects.
Moonfall is now available in theatres. It stars Patrick Wilson, Halle Berry, John Bradley, Michael Pena, Kelly Yu, Donald Sutherland, and many more.