‘Crater’ Review – More Relevant Than You Realize

Synopsis: “Crater” is the coming-of-age adventure story of Caleb Channing (Isaiah Russell-Bailey), who was raised on a lunar mining colony and is about to be permanently relocated to another faraway, more desirable planet following the death of his father. But before leaving, to fulfill his dad’s last wish, he and his three best friends, Dylan (Billy Barratt), Borney (Orson Hong) and Marcus (Thomas Boyce), and a new arrival from Earth, Addison (Mckenna Grace), hijack a rover for one last adventure on a journey to explore a mysterious crater.

Nowadays, there’s a thin blurry line between life imitating art and art imitating life. As we live through remake after remake of film and television, copy and paste arguments are being had in real-time, online, on the news, and in person about everything you can imagine, we’ve weirdly reached a chicken or the egg conundrum. Now, Neil deGrasse Tyson can scientifically elaborate on why the egg came first and it makes perfect sense. However, human beings at this point may not be so simple, or maybe we’re extremely simple and predictable. Either way, with so much happening simultaneously with the internet and a global reach at the click of a button, it’s incredibly difficult to know what imitated what. I say all that to say, after you watch this film, go watch the first episode of High Science on another streaming service and get back to me about how you feel about humanity and the Moon.

“They’re putting me on a transport in three days.

New steps for man and a monumental leap for mankind. But at what cost? Directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Crater is a worthwhile road trip that is more relevant than you realize. Oftentimes we experience a film and then look back on it years later and come to the conclusion that the story it told somewhat predicted the future, was trying to warn us, or was flat-out telling us a version of things to come, Crater is quite possibly doing a little bit of it all. On the surface, this is a compelling story of friendship, adventure, loss, and discovery. It’s a lunar journey where three friends and a newcomer desperately want to help their other friend, who has just suffered a detrimental loss, get to the one place his father always wanted him to see.

However, being born and raised inside of a domed mining colony on the Moon, they have never been out of its walls where gravity is low, oxygen is essentially nonexistent, and with almost no atmosphere, meteor showers can be deadly. Underneath it all, as the story is set in the year 2257 when Earth’s only natural satellite has now been colonized for generations and a new habitable planet name Omega has been discovered and is also being colonized, not everything is as it seems. Promises have been made, lies have been told, and some of humanity’s worse traits seem to resurface no matter what floating rock we happen to be on. Despite the darker side of things, with the direction the story takes, it honestly somewhat feels like it could be in the realm of what a precursor to what would eventually become the original Star Trek series would look like which is set in 2266. It’s futuristically attainable and exploration has clearly been happening for a decent amount of time.

“Masters of our own fate!”

As I mentioned above, the film is relevant and topical. The whole reason why Caleb and his friends inhabit the Moon and are traveling to a distant and eye-opening crater is that at some point the human race concluded that not only is the tide-controlling rock habitable but also profitable. Moreover, if you Google the Artemis program led by NASA, you’ll see that in reality, the wheels are currently in motion for us to actually have a permanent presence on the Moon. This work of fiction is very real. This leads us back to my opening paragraph about the “the chicken or the egg” scenario. Having known about Artemis previous to watching this film made it extremely interesting, mildly exciting, but mostly terrifying in the most grounded way. It definitely has nothing to do with humans historically being unfathomably violent, selfish, and manipulative to and over new lucrative territories.

Let me not get too sidetracked, back to the film. Crater is more enjoyable than I expected. It may not be as adventurous as other films that take place in space or as wacky as other road trip stories, but it feels original but also familiar. The tone definitely doesn’t scream College Road Trip or Johnson Family Vacation, but it does have Goonies and Stand By Me vibes with a dash of Interstellar. Despite being led by teenagers the film offers depth, intelligence, authenticity, and independence. We are so used to seeing teens displaying fearlessness, stupidity, and hormone activity that we forget how profound, thoughtful, and selfless they can be. However, some of that stupidity is still present which does give the film some of its most thrilling and tragic moments. The film looks great, the performances are strong, and with its positive themes, Crater has plenty to offer. The future is sure to be riveting. Its rewatchability is medium-high.

Pacing & Pop

The pacing for this film isn’t quite what you’d expect. What seems like your not-so-average space road trip, is actually a cathartic journey with more than a little depth. Therefore, the story tends to move at a slower speed as it takes its time within its heartfelt moments. What popped the most for me was the terrifying realization that this may be a glimpse at our not-so-distant future.

Characters & Chemistry

Starring: Isaiah Russell-Bailey, Mckenna Grace, Billy Barratt, Orson Hong, Thomas Boyce, and Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi

This young and relatively new cast delivers one hell of an ensemble performance. They may all have at least a few projects under their belts, but only Mckenna Grace and Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi have a hearty work history. Thankfully, everyone gets to shine and show off their talents in this film. Their overall chemistry is warm and caring and also a bit rambunctious. However, this group of lunar trekkers, like most friend groups, has groups within their group. Caleb (Isaiah Russell-Bailey) and Dylan (Billy Barratt) are the leaders of the group. Both are strong-willed and determined and make most of the decisions whether right or wrong. Marcus (Thomas Boyce) and Borney (Orson Hong) are like an old married couple where one is quiet and stoic while the other is neurotic, funny, and constantly asks if you’ve taken your medicine. And lastly, the newbie Addison (Mckenna Grace) along with Caleb brings the heart and complexity to the story while Dylan is the conscience.

Crater premieres exclusively on Disney+ on May 12, 2023. Remain safe and look out for the loopholes.

Rated: PG

Runtime: 1h 44m

Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez Writer: John Griffin

Producers: Shawn Levy, Dan Levine and Dan Cohen

Executive Producers: Emily Morris, John G. Scotti, Rpin Suwannath, Gordon Gray, Paris Kassidokostas-Latsis, Terry Dougas

Costume Design: Ane Crabtree

Production Designer: Nora T. Ekberg

Editors: Jennifer Lilly, James W. Harrison III

Visual Effects Supervisor: Carey Villegas

Composers: Dan Romer, Osei Essed