A group of rebellious teenagers bands together to steal a truck and go on a road trip on the surface of the Moon before one of the friends has to say goodbye forever. From its very first scene, Disney’s Crater sets the tone for a feel-good story about seizing the day by the side of the people you love. It’s a tried and true formula, ideal for a coming-of-age tale that, in Crater, gets an exciting twist by adding sci-fi elements. However, while Crater’s futuristic setting could have elevated a commonplace story, the sci-fi elements of the movie are never properly explored. As a result, Disney’s latest original production turns out to be a predictable low-stakes adventure that never feels particularly funny or emotional. Still, you’ll get exactly what you come for with Crater, with beautiful visual effects helping to support a bland movie that’s average enough to watch without significant commitments.
Crater is set in 2257 when mining stations on the Moon are being used to extract the helium needed to take passengers on a 75-year cryogenic journey to Omega, a far away colony humans have not yet destroyed. Of course, since these galactic trips are as expensive as they sound, tickets to Omega are only affordable for the wealthy class of Earth. Meanwhile, the poor masses are promised a place in paradise after breaking their backs on the Moon for twenty years. As a result, Moon miners live in a semi-slavery system in which new generations inherit the work debts of their parents.
Crater’s fantastic premise could be used to discuss class struggles in late capitalism, but all political pretense is quickly dissolved by the protagonists' resignation towards their unfair reality or the introduction of quick solutions that try to simplify complex problems. In addition, while the whole movie is built on the assumption that people are escaping to Omega, there’s absolutely no information about the state of Earth and why the planet has become an unwanted home. In fact, people on the Moon actually dream about living on Earth and seeing a blue sky, as if our little planet was a lost oasis in a hostile universe. Then, why are people leaving? Crater doesn’t tell as the sci-fi elements of the movie are treated as a coat of paint applied over a simple road trip instead of being an intrinsic part of the story. That’s also why we get rushed lessons on the World Wars and listen to “Miracle Mile” by Cold War Kids when the film refers to the past. It’s like humanity froze in the two centuries that separate the movie from our reality since people’s speech, dress codes, art, and history don’t seem to have progressed.
While Crater fails as a dystopian sci-fi story, things do get better regarding its road trip story. On the lunar mining station, we meet Caleb (Isaiah Russell-Bailey) and his three best friends, Dylan (Billy Barratt), Borney (Orson Hong) and Marcus (Thomas Boyce). Together with fresh-from-Earth Addison (Mckenna Grace), the group go on the adventure of a lifetime searching for a mysterious crater after Caleb’s father (Kid Cudi) dies. Caleb’s old man worked his entire life to buy his kid’s freedom, which means the teenager is soon going to Omega. That’s why, as a parting gift, his friends take him to the crater Caleb’s father desperately wanted him to visit.
It’s a simple concept but quite effective, as the teenager’s road trip has all the expected Disney staples. First, Crater’s world is beautiful and the House of the Mouse indeed spared no expense in building a credible version of the Moon with CGI. Then, during the journey, we get the required mix of comedy, drama, and adventure that every Disney family movie needs.
Sadly, the humor doesn’t always land, as it’s too often based on the bickering of the many characters, each defined by a unique quirk. Since there’s not any actual danger in the friends’ path, almost every trouble they’ll face is caused by teenage stupidity, which drains the stakes of Crater’s most thrilling scenes. It’s great, then, that the movie is more successful on the dramatic front, especially in the third act. So, while there’s not much in Crater to surprise the audience, we still get some memorable moments in which characters guide the story. On that note, Grace shines brighter than everyone else, building excitement in whatever she does next.
Still, Crater's stakes are low for its characters and the audience. It abuses clichés, never deviates from its formulaic script, and fails to surprise the viewer. In addition, two thirds of the movie are plagued by unnecessary exposition that goes beyond worldbuilding and tries to define the emotional meaning of the road trip, a hand-holding technique that gets stale pretty fast. Still, Disney’s latest movie does offer some casual forgettable fun. We only wished it would do more with the interesting ideas it quickly tosses to the side.
Rating: C
Crater is now streaming on Disney+.