Fly Me to the Moon

Scarlett Johansson was the world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019. Despite the twinkle of her star power, the movie’s standout performance is the character development of a feline star. A black cat begins as a stray, moves to pampered, and then finds agency as a set destroyer. No amateur performance, the furry creature deserves a “cat-acter” award at next year’s Academy.

Fly Me to the Moon is set amid the space race that dominated the 1960s. The fire on Apollo 1 that sadly killed three astronauts in 1967 shakes NASA’s reputation. The government (Woody Harrelson as Moe Berkus) responds by enlisting a New York marketing star (Scarlett Johansson as Kelly Jones).

Jones, supported by her assistant (Anna Garcia as Ruby Martin), sets about selling the space race. One of the first marketing initiatives taken by Jones is the release of photos of the earth from the moon.

The head of NASA (Channing Tatum as Cole Davis) is less than impressed, as photos are followed by watches similar to those worn by Commander Neil Armstrong and cereal eaten by pilot Buzz Aldrin.

Amid the romantic inevitability, there is a scene of unexpected theology. Flying Jones to dinner with a US Senator, Davis explains how astronauts connect faith and science. The heavens declare divine handiwork, he states, evoking Psalm 19 to suggest the space race brings astronauts closer to God.

Sadly, Davis’ telling also draws on inaccurate translations of Genesis 1. The role of humans in the Hebrew is more accurately translated as stewardship, not dominion. It is a moment that jars in an otherwise helpful articulation of the relationship between science, technology and belief in God.

The optimism of Davis’ words sits awkwardly beside the images of the earth from the moon. Norman Cousins, Editor of the Saturday Review, observed that the most significant thing about flying to the moon was not that people set foot on lunar rock but that they set eyes on the earth. Like Davis, Cousins suggests that seeing the planet in blue and green invites transcendent questions. Wonder will be encouraged. Beauty will be appreciated. Care for a planet humans all call home is encouraged.

Such optimism sits uneasily alongside the movie's “mostly" true story. Fly Me to the Moon weaves together a troubling mix of state surveillance, conspiracy theories and advertising as an industry of lies. Kelly Jones assistant, Ruby Martin, voices initial moral questions about the environmental impact of the space race. Yet her misgivings are rapidly overtaken by the possibility of Florida beach life and the movie’s pragmatic compulsion to win the race in space. Despite Davis’ optimistic words, Fly Me to the Moon offers little evidence that wonder and beauty do shape how humans set eyes upon the earth. Or fly to the moon.

Rev Dr Steve Taylor is the author of "First Expressions" (2019) and writes widely in theology and popular culture, including regularly at www.emergentkiwi.org.nz.