Fly Me to the Moon or Somethin’ Stupid?

What conspiracy is that? The trailer and advertisements for Fly Me to the Moon suggested that the movie is about faking the Apollo moon landings. With that impression, I expected Fly Me to the Moon to be similar to the 1978 movie Capricorn One. The poster for Capricorn One featured a movie set with astronauts standing in front of a Lunar Excursion Module, the craft that took Apollo astronauts to the lunar surface only a few years before, and the poster posed the question, “Would you be shocked to find that the greatest moment of our recent history may not have happened at all?” Many people who went to the theater to see Capricorn One thought that the movie was about faking the Apollo 11 mission, and many people still think it was. Except it wasn’t. Capricorn One was a story about faking the first manned Mars mission, using spacecraft that greatly resembled the Apollo spacecraft. According to the plot, the reason for the fakery was that with budget cuts, the spacecraft had been trimmed to the point of guaranteed failure of the mission, and NASA likely couldn’t survive the bad publicity of failure and loss of life.

With my expectation that Fly Me to the Moon was going to be like Capricorn One, I wasn’t expecting much of this new movie. However, I was pleasantly surprised—I ended up liking Fly Me to the Moon. The plot was good, with much humor woven in. The only objectional material was some profanity. Much of the story focused on a mysterious government official named Moe Berkus (played by Woody Harrelson) who recruits a very talented advertising executive, Kelly Jones (played by Scarlett Johansson), to sell the Apollo program to the American public and politicians to rally financial support to complete the Apollo 11 mission, the first manned landing on the moon. At the time of the Apollo program, there were questions about why we were spending so much money to go to the moon. The fact that Kelly is a con artist is well-known to Moe, who considers that characteristic to be an asset in the campaign. Of course, a love interest quickly develops between Kelly and flight director Cole Davis (played by Channing Tatum).

The reason for making the Apollo 11 at all costs was very clear.

Throughout much of the movie, it was all about marketing the Apollo program. The reason for making the Apollo 11 at all costs was very clear. This was during the Cold War when the West seemed to be in an existential struggle against communism. It was feared that if the Soviet Union were to be first to land a man on the moon it could tip the balance in their favor, leading to a takeover of communist ideology. Since this seemed to be the direction the movie was going, I kept thinking that perhaps the hints of the movie including faking the Apollo 11 moon landing were a teaser to get people into the theater. However, that part of the plot eventually came up. For those who haven’t yet seen the movie, I won’t give away how this turns out, other than to say that the reason for the fakery isn’t what I expected.

Not only was the movie entertaining with much comedy, good acting, and relatively little crudeness or vulgarity, it was well done cinematographically. There was a mix of camera footage from the 1960s, including the launch of Apollo 11. The many cars of that era on the streets and parking lots were a delight. The mention of getting Stanley Kubrick to finish the project was funny. A black cat appears throughout the movie, with one last subtle, hilarious appearance at the end. Conspiracies involving aliens were brought up at the end of the movie too.

Part of the plot involved wooing powerful senators to provide the funding necessary to complete the Apollo 11 mission. For me, an important part of the movie was when Kelly and Cole have dinner at a senator’s home. Always the con artist, Kelly schmoozes the senator and his wife, which obviously does not sit well with Cole. The senator turned to his deep Christian beliefs, and of course, Kelly continued her act. But Cole briefly talked about his faith and science, six-day creation, the dominion mandate, and Psalm 19:1. I couldn’t have said it better myself. This prompted the senator to lend his support to Apollo 11. I was afraid that this was all a con job, and immediately after dinner, Kelly congratulated Cole on helping her sell the con. But Cole corrected her, saying that, unlike her, he meant what he said. It was refreshing to see a person espousing Christian belief treated well in a movie.

It was refreshing to see a person espousing Christian belief treated well in a movie.

You may wonder why I, who has never written a movie review before, have written this review. There is a growing Apollo moon landing denial movement that unfortunately has infected the church. I recall briefly writing about this movement only once. The fact that two men who walked on the moon later were born again ought to cause Christians who disbelieve we landed on the moon to pause. The belief that we did not land on the moon requires accusing two Christian brothers of lying about one of the biggest things that happened in their lives. It is shameful and sinful that professing Christians slander fellow believers so easily. That is a serious charge, and it must be accompanied by solid evidence. I have investigated many of the claims about faking the Apollo moon landings, and I have found them wanting. Unfortunately, this fun movie is likely to continue fueling the supposed Apollo moon landing hoax.

The Apollo moon landing hoax is just one example of many conspiracy theories that abound today. It seems that our culture is obsessed with conspiracy theories, and the church is not immune to the attraction of hidden secret knowledge. I have previously warned of the growth of gnosticism today. We must combat this wicked movement, especially within the church.