Light on the history and heavy on the fiction, the recently released “Fly Me to the Moon,” starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, wasn’t exactly bad but could’ve been so much better. Using the Apollo 11 mission as a historical backdrop, the movie focuses on launch director Cole Davis (Tatum) who wants to be laser focused on the mission but faces interference by the newly hired press maven Kelly Jones (Johansson) who is trying to give NASA a public facelift.

MOVIE: “Fly Me To The Moon” (2024, PG-13, 132 min, watch it: in

theaters only)

Though the movie synopsis is pretty brief, I have a lot of trouble trying to identify the genre for the movie which I find to be one of the major faults: it simply tries to do too much. There are elements of the historical truth to the movie surrounding the legitimate Apollo 11 mission. They often go for a nostalgic vibe, trying to harness the emotions Americans had during the actual mission.

However, nearly all the characters in the movie, outside of the three astronauts, are complete fabrications. While Davis does many of the things the launch director would’ve done, he wouldn’t have been involved to the degree he is in this movie with advertising. In fact, NASA couldn’t and didn’t advertise like they suggest in the movie.

Even though there are serious moments, like the opening section replaying the tragedy of the Apollo 1 mission, the movie overall has a much more jovial and comic atmosphere to it. I’m unsure if Tatum could pull off a serious, dramatic role and, regardless of genre, shines more with comedy added, potentially a large reason the movie leaned that way.

There is also a romantic underpinning to the relationship between Jones and Davis throughout the movie. Intrigue seeps in as you keep wondering what Jones is hiding about her past. Then there is the largest elephant in the room for this movie: the idea that the government staged a moon landing in case anything went wrong with the actual moon landing. This moves the film squarely into the realm of fiction.

Does that make it a bad movie? Certainly not. Without spoiling the actual happenings of the movie, I’m happy to say they make it obvious the filmed fake moon landing didn’t work. The filmmakers also seem slightly worried about audience reactions to the idea of the conspiracy, so they throw in these lines for Jones: “The truth is still the truth, even if no one believes it. And a lie is still a lie, even if everyone believes it.”

While I was initially concerned about the conspiracy angle, they handled it pretty well as a plot point. I was also concerned if Channing Tatum could pull off a role like this, and I think he was the weakest point of the movie overall. Side note: Chris Evans (best known as Steve Rogers/Captain America in the MCU) was originally cast as Davis but had to drop out. I really have no idea how the movie would’ve fared with him in the role instead. What I do know is that Johansson more than made up for Tatum’s unbelievability with a stellar performance that carried the movie.

So, is this movie What2Watch for you? Oddly, the lack of specific genre might help more people find something to enjoy about the movie. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a solid movie that knows what it is, then this probably isn’t the one for you. Anyone who was hoping for a movie focusing purely on Apollo 11 or potential government conspiracies would probably be disappointed at how much those two get muddled together. Personally, I went in expecting to be underwhelmed and the movie exceeded that low bar and I left the theatre entertained and satisfied.

Kent Kraft is someone who still supports the mission of NASA and space exploration. There are so many unknown things amongst the stars, how can people not want to know more? Speaking of stars, he also wants to make it clear he enjoys Channing Tatum as an actor, but this particular role wasn’t a good fit.