Everything about this movie, from the trailer, to the poster, to the product itself, this feels like one of those “fake movies” characters would watch inside a real film.

“Fly Me to the Moon” tells the story about NASA’s plan to sell the 1969 Apollo 11 mission to the American people, and the subsequent filming of “backup” footage of the moon landing for broadcast. Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johannsson, Ray Ramano, and Woody Harrelson star, while Greg Berlanti directs.

Apple TV+ has had a mixed bag of success since its launch a few years ago. On one hand, they are one of the few studios willing to give legendary directors like Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott $200 million budgets in order to make prestige pictures for adult audiences like “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Napoleon.” On the other hand, they’ve blown hundreds of millions of dollars on typical streamer Oscar bait (Will Smith’s “Emancipation“) and generic blockbusters (“Argylle“), both of which looked awful to-boot. “Fly Me to the Moon” is better than either of those two latter films, but it still very much feels “off,” like it is made with an algorithm in mind and not so much with the goal of being a stand-alone film.

Generally speaking, both Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johannsson are likable stars, with decent filmographies, so it makes sense that they would eventually star in a film together. Here, Tatum plays Cole Davis, one of the launch directors at NASA, while Johannsson is Kelly Jones, a marketing specialist brought in to “sell the moon.” On their own they each have a few moments of amusing one-liners or reaction shots, but together you do not buy their romantic relationship for a second. Near every scene they share they are bickering and give off no romantic tension, so when they finally go on a date it feels completely unearned. There are dozens of examples in movies of enemies to lovers, its a trope for a reason, but I think the film would have worked better (and been shorter) if they had kept Tatum and Johannsson as platonic colleagues.

Woody Harrelson pops up for a few scenes here and there as the shady government agent who tasks ScarJo with marketing the moon mission, and he’s fun enough essentially playing himself. He eventually tasks Johannsson with filming an alternative version of the moon landing as a backup plan, which should be the hook of the film, but feels like a B-plot. The film should have focused more on the conspiracy aspects of the story, a “modern” day “Wag the Dog,” but it tries to juggle that, the mission itself, and Tatum and Johannsson’s romance. Each of these plotlines have a different tone, and it creates pacing issues in an already bloated film (131 minutes for something like this is objectively too long).

To the film’s credit, the Apollo 11 mission itself is fairly intense, honestly rivaling “First Man” in its depiction of the moon landing sequence. But after that, there is still another 20+ minutes of movie left, and the wind comes out of the sails when we enter total slapstick territory (and then get a faux ending before finally wrapping things up). With a $100 million budget thanks to Apple’s bottomless pockets, the attention to period piece detail is pretty good, with 60s cars, clothing, and music filling each frame, but since this is a film that sells itself off an idea and movie star power and not so much as a biopic, those details only carry things so far.

“Fly Me to the Moon” is a movie with a lot to say and yet it says very little. Every aspect about it feels half-baked, and if they had just chosen to focus on the moon mission’s lack of PR or the plan to fake the entire operation, then this could have been a much more streamlined (and enjoyable) flick. I can’t say I was bored, and when the film does occasionally find its groove it can be moderately entertaining, but there is just something off-putting about it all, like it was designed simply to have several clips that will circulate on Tik Tok or Twitter. I feel like the Apollo 11 mission is a story that could lend itself to either a sprawling “Oppenheimer” epic or tongue-in-cheek “Wag the Dog” conspiracy comedy, but until we get a film like that (I don’t think “First Man” is that film, either), you’re better off watching the likes of “Hidden Figures” or “Apollo 13.”

Critics Rating: 6/10