Moon 44

Solid handmade production design, still without digital crap (understandably), interspersed with simple eight-bit graphics here and there, but otherwise terribly confusingly told. It lacks a dramatic arc, a more capable writer, and the characters act like idiots at times. The fact that this film opened the door to Hollywood for Emmerich proves that, in the eyes of studio bosses, they don't care about a meaningful script and skillful storytelling, they’re looking for craftsmen who know how to deftly manage budgets, preferably to save money without visual compromise, in other words, a lot of bang for the buck. I can't deny Emmerich one thing: his films always look more expensive than they actually cost. (30/05/2016)