3/5 stars “What’s the plan?” asks Halle Berry’s Nasa suit. “Save the moon, save Earth,” comes the reply from Patrick Wilson’s fellow ex-astronaut. As pitches go, that pretty much sums up Roland Emmerich’s Moonfall . A disaster movie from a specialist in them (Emmerich brought us alien invasion saga Independence Day and eco-catastrophe tale The Day After Tomorrow ), this latest blockbuster is an enjoyable romp built on crackpot theories that will keep internet forums chattering for years. When the moon’s orbit is suddenly out of whack, Earth faces annihilation. Tsunami, earthquakes and eruptions start, although they are just a precursor to the main event as the moon draws ever closer to our planet. The US government is ready to fire nukes, but Brian Harper (Wilson) and Jo Fowler (Berry) have other ideas. Joining them is Dr KC Houseman ( Game of Thrones ’ John Bradley), an astronomy and physics nerd who recognised the moon was off course before anyone at Nasa did. On the ground are the inevitable assorted family members – including Harper’s teenage delinquent son Sonny (Charlie Plummer) and Fowler’s little boy, who is being looked after by Chinese exchange student Michelle (Kelly Yu). Inevitable sacrifices occur both on Earth and in the atmosphere above, in a film that’s not ashamed of its cheesier elements. Dialogue is peppered with lines like “God help us all” and “T minus 20”, which hardly stand out as original in the pantheon of disaster movies. Still, Emmerich – working here with Chinese entertainment outfit Huayi Brothers Media – knows how to craft a good action set-piece. One sequence, in which a rocket takes off just as an enormous “gravity wave” is about to hit, is particularly thrilling. Perhaps the budget of Moonfall means that the visual effects aren’t on a par with, say, Alfonso Cuarón’s Oscar winner Gravity , but this is still a film with plenty of energy in its tank. Emmerich relishes delivering “mounting moon terror”, as one character so neatly terms it. You have to do what you love: actress Kelly Yu talks about Moonfall and her musical career There is humour to Moonfall , ensuring it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Bradley is the film’s stand-out, funny and touching without ever being ingratiating (he has a cat called ‘Fuzz Aldrin’, which is a nice touch). The film perhaps would’ve worked better as a straight-up apocalypse movie – without giving too much away, there are some out-of-this-world explanations for the moon’s crazy trajectory. But if you’re looking for an action movie that encourages your brain to decompress, this is it. Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook