Scarlett Johansson takes Fly Me to the Moon from launch pad to lift off

There’s a lot to like about the 1960s space race comedy-drama Fly Me to the Moon – drama, humour, a touch of romance and plot twists that will appeal to conspiracy theorists.

Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) and Cole Davis (Channing Tatum) in FLY ME TO THE MOON.

There’s a lot to like about the 1960s space race comedy-drama Fly Me to the Moon, but what takes it from launch pad to lift-off is a magnificent performance by Scarlett Johansson.

She is Kelly Jones, a marketing whiz hired by the White House to sell the 1969 Apollo 11 mission. With the Vietnam war in the headlines, she needs to remind Americans “why they fell in love” with the idea of putting a man on the moon.

Her first job is to win over the launch director, former top gun pilot Cole Davis (Channing Tatum, who is impressive as the straight man and, almost needless to say, the potential love interest). Because the Americans must beat the Soviets to the lunar surface, she also has to film a fake moon landing as a back-up in case Apollo 11 goes the same tragic way as Apollo 1 did two years earlier.

Woody Harrelson is in fine form as the President’s fixer, a man who knows some of Kelly’s secrets. Johansson perfectly captures a blend of Madison Avenue confidence and anxiety about a past being revealed. She’s Don Draper in lipstick.

She signs up a mercurial film director, Lance Vespertine (Jim Rash, who steals every scene he is in). Asked what he needs to make it look convincing, he stares at the fake moon set and sighs. “A little more dust and better actors.” Soon after Kelly laments that she “should have gone with Kubrick”, a nice nod to the fact 2001: A Space Odyssey was in cinemas 12 months before Neil Armstrong took that small step on to the moon.

This movie is directed by Greg Berlanti, who specialises in romantic comedies (Life As We Know It in 2010 and Love, Simon in 2018) and written by Rose Gilroy. The result is an intelligent, entertaining screwball comedy that explores the power of advertising with drama, humour, a touch of romance and plot twists that will appeal to conspiracy theorists who believe the moon landing, which marks its 55th anniversary on July 20, was a sham.

Fly Me to the Moon (M)

132 minutes
In cinemas

★★★★