The First Men in the Moon

I never read the book but this is vastly different than the original movie. I didn't notice that it was made for TV until now but that explains the extremely low budget. Even with a low budget, the special effects were better than in the original. The story itself though is equally bad. At one point a guy dreams that he is in a silent movie and it's very bizarre. It's clearly just an excuse to shoehorn Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton into the movie. The end doesn't even make any sense. Mark Gatiss does have an interesting take on the story though. This is definitely worth watching if you have seen the original movie, just to see that time couldn't make it any better.

Because this is a remake of the 1964 film of the same title, that one had Edward Judd and Lionel Jeffries, both passed away now, this one has Rory Kinnear and Mark Gatiss in the same roles.

Its pretty much similar to the original, but with a newer look, the scenery on Earth (Hertfordshire) is not as good, but the acting is well up there, both actors bouncing off each other to make a better performance.

Again its the original HG Wells story that creates the quality. The special effects are better than the original but the images are a bit harsher, but nevertheless a good film, I would say that the original is slightly better than this but not much, I give this an 8, same as I did for the original, but this is an 8.0 where the original would have been an 8.5. Its that close, making this a successful re-make.

The First Men in the Moon is a low budget BBC4 adaptation of the HG Wells book. The film stars Mark Gatiss as Cavor and Rory Kinnear as Bedford. Gatiss also adapted the screenplay.

The setting is July 1969 on the eve of the first lunar landing as a 90 year old Julius Bedford tells a young lad the story of how two men made the first journey to the Moon back in 1909.

He recounts that when he was a young man, he met Professor Cavor who had invented 'Cavorite', a substance that blocked the force of gravity and they worked together to build a ship that would fly them to the moon and encounter the Selenites.

The film is an affectionate tribute to the HG Wells book but the pacing is uneven, the drama is low key and the special effects display its low budget origins.

Gatiss and Kinnear do their best to elevate the production values but the direction does not help too much to make it more memorable.

This adaptation seemed void of any dramatic tension and had very little comedy. It has it's moments, but I'm struggling to think of them having just watched the film. Far too often the characters would just ramble on and on, spouting exposition. Uncomfortably trying to shoehorn between Wells's original fantasy vision and the reality of science as we understand it today. Gatis wrote the screenplay and needed a strong editor. The direction and sets were equally uninspiring. Whereas the 1964 movie lives on in my memory - this version will be quickly forgotten. All in all it was like a bad episode of Dr Who. I also have to say the make up was appalling. Rory Kinnear's fake beard looked ridiculous.

In 1969, everyone is looking to the moon for the Apollo landing. Young Jim gets lost at an English country fair and happens upon 90-year-old Julius Bedford who recounts his story as the first man on the moon. In 1909, struggling writer Bedford (Rory Kinnear) meets eccentric scientist Cavor (Mark Gatiss) who invented an anti-gravity substance.

The concept is a bit better than the execution. It's an adaptation of a H. G. Wells story. I'm fine with doing an alternate sci-fi. The designs are fine even if the CGI is lesser level. I don't find the characters that compelling. Bringing the present day to 1969 makes some sense but I wonder if bringing it to modern day wouldn't be better. It's a tall tale and that could fun. I really don't like popping off the heads and the story doesn't really have any great thrills. It's more interesting than compelling. It's slightly interesting.