So, you’re looking at the fly me to the moon rating and wondering if it’s actually worth two hours of your life. Honestly, it’s a weird one. If you check Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic, you’ll see numbers that don’t quite tell the whole story. It’s that 2024 Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum flick—the one where NASA hires a marketing genius to fake the moon landing just in case the real one goes south.
Critics were… well, they were fine with it. But audiences? They mostly loved it.
This isn’t your typical space movie. It’s not Interstellar. It’s not even Apollo 13. It’s a "vibes" movie. When people search for the fly me to the moon rating, they usually see a "Fresh" score hovering around 67% from critics and a much higher 81% from the general public. That gap tells you everything. It tells you that the people paid to analyze cinematography found it a bit fluffy, while the people paid $15 for a ticket and a bucket of popcorn had a great time.
What the Fly Me to the Moon Rating Gets Right (and Wrong)
Let’s get into the weeds. Most professional reviewers at outlets like The New York Times or Variety gave it a middling score because the tone shifts. Is it a rom-com? Is it a historical drama? Is it a cynical satire about government propaganda?
It’s all of them. And for some people, that’s a mess.
But here’s the thing: Scarlett Johansson is electric as Kelly Jones. She’s playing a Madison Avenue shark who can sell a popsicle to an Eskimo, and her chemistry with Channing Tatum’s Cole Davis—a stiff-necked, honest-to-god war hero flight director—is the engine of the film. If you’re looking at the fly me to the moon rating because you want a romantic spark, you’re in luck.
The "fake the moon landing" plot point is where things get dicey for the critics. Some felt it was a bit too "conspiracy theory adjacent" for 2024. Others thought it was a clever way to show the tension between the cold, hard facts of science and the glossy, manufactured "truth" of advertising.
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The PG-13 Factor and Families
The fly me to the moon rating from the MPAA is PG-13. This is actually a huge part of why the movie’s overall reception stayed positive. It’s safe. It’s the kind of movie you can take your parents to without worrying about awkward sex scenes, but it’s sharp enough that you won’t be bored out of your mind. There’s some strong language—a few choice words scattered throughout—and some smoking, which is historically accurate for the 60s.
- Language: Moderate. A few "s-words" and the like.
- Romance: Heavy on the flirting, light on anything explicit.
- Violence: None, really. Just the high-stakes tension of rocket launches.
Does the 6.7/10 IMDb Score Hold Up?
If you look at IMDb, the fly me to the moon rating sits at a 6.7. In the world of IMDb, that’s basically code for "good, not great." It’s the kind of movie you watch on a Sunday afternoon on a streaming service like Apple TV+.
Why didn’t it hit an 8? Probably because of the runtime. At 132 minutes, it’s long. It’s really long for a romantic comedy. Director Greg Berlanti clearly wanted to give the space stuff room to breathe, but if you’re just there for the banter between Kelly and Cole, you might find yourself checking your watch around the 90-minute mark.
I talked to a few film buffs who felt the ending was a bit too "neat." In a world where we’re constantly bombarded with fake news, a movie about faking the greatest achievement in human history needs to have a bit of a bite. Fly Me to the Moon chooses to be sweet instead. It’s a choice. Not a bad one, but it definitely keeps the fly me to the moon rating from climbing into "masterpiece" territory.
The Visuals and the 60s Aesthetic
One thing everyone agrees on—from the harshest critics to the most casual viewers—is that the movie looks incredible. The costume design is top-tier. Johansson’s wardrobe alone probably accounts for half the budget. The vibrant, technicolor look of the 1960s is captured perfectly.
This visual polish definitely helps the fly me to the moon rating. Even if you find the plot a little thin in places, you can’t deny that it’s a beautiful film to look at. The recreations of the Kennedy Space Center are meticulous. They actually filmed some scenes on location, which adds a layer of authenticity that CGI just can’t replicate.
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Comparing the Ratings to Other 2024 Films
When you compare the fly me to the moon rating to other movies released in the same window, like Twisters or Deadpool & Wolverine, you see a pattern. It’s an adult-skewing mid-budget movie. Those are rare these days.
- Twisters was about spectacle.
- Deadpool was about meta-humor.
- Fly Me to the Moon is about… people talking in rooms.
That’s why the rating is so stable. It doesn’t have the highs of a blockbuster, but it doesn’t have the lows of a failed experiment. It’s a solid, professional piece of filmmaking.
The Woody Harrelson "Wildcard"
We have to talk about Woody Harrelson. He plays Moe Berkus, a mysterious government operative who basically blackmails Kelly into the job. Harrelson is doing his typical Harrelson thing—quirky, slightly menacing, but ultimately charming. Every time he’s on screen, the fly me to the moon rating goes up half a point in my book. He provides the cynical counterpoint to Tatum’s earnestness.
Without him, the movie might have been too sugary. He adds the salt.
What You Should Know Before Watching
If you’re basing your decision to watch on the fly me to the moon rating, keep these three things in mind:
- It’s a Rom-Com First: If you’re a space nerd looking for a technical breakdown of the Saturn V rocket, you’ll get some of that, but the heart of the movie is the relationship.
- The Faking the Moon Plot is a Device: It’s not trying to say the moon landing was actually faked. It’s a "what if" scenario used to explore themes of truth and marketing.
- The Pace is Deliberate: It takes its time. Don't expect a fast-paced thriller.
How to Use the Fly Me to the Moon Rating to Decide
So, is the fly me to the moon rating high enough for a recommendation?
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If you like movies like Jerry Maguire or Hidden Figures, the answer is a resounding yes. It sits right in that pocket. If you only watch movies that are rated 90% or higher, you might be tempted to skip it, but you’d be missing out on a genuinely charming performance from the leads.
The critics who dinged it for being "formulaic" aren’t wrong, but sometimes the formula works. There’s a reason we like these types of stories. They’re comforting.
Final Practical Steps for Viewers
If you’re ready to dive in, here’s how to get the most out of it:
- Check the Platform: It’s an Apple Original Film. If you have an Apple TV+ subscription, it’s a "free" watch. If you’re paying $20 to rent it, the fly me to the moon rating might feel a bit lower in your head because of the price tag.
- Watch for the Chemistry: Pay attention to the scenes where Johansson and Tatum are just arguing. That’s the best part of the movie.
- Don’t Expect Documentary Realism: Take the historical "facts" with a grain of salt. It’s a tall tale.
Ultimately, the fly me to the moon rating reflects a movie that is perfectly content being a "good" movie. It doesn’t try to change the world. It just tries to entertain you for a few hours with some great actors and a cool 60s soundtrack. In 2026, looking back at the films of the mid-2020s, it stands out as one of the few original stories that managed to capture a wide audience without being a sequel or a remake.
If you want a movie that feels like a warm blanket with a little bit of edge, ignore the 67% and just hit play. You'll likely find yourself siding with the audience score on this one. It’s a crowd-pleaser through and through. Just make sure you’ve got enough snacks to last the two-hour-plus runtime, because it does lean into its length.