Ah, the year was 1969. Apollo 11 had landed on the moon. I was 11 and eating up any science fiction I could. When I saw the advertisement for this movie I HAD to see it. So I had my mom take me and a friend to see it.

Yeah, it was kind of hokey, but I didn’t notice that when I was 11. I simply thought it was plain cool. Besides, the larger Lunar Module looked pretty darn impressive. And the main actor, James Olsen, had been in Andromeda Strain a year earlier.

So, is it worth checking out now, circa 2001? Yeah, if you can catch it on cable or maybe the Sci-Fi Channel, it’d be worth a look. Just to see how events were extrapolated from the reality of 1969. Sadly, the politicians killed Apollo just when they were getting good at going to interesting places on the moon, i.e. Apollo 17 at Taurus-Littrow – incredible scenery. So we never established a moon base like the one in the movie. Sad.

It is indeed a “Western” set on the moon. You’ll love the bar scene and all the women. Sorry if that sounds sexist, but hey, this was the sixties, and even 11 year old boys liked girls in mini-skirts. So, if you ever have a chance to catch it, grab a six-pack, sit down, and enjoy.