Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

A group of scientists build a rocket and fly to the Moon.Wonderfully imaginative and innovative. Directed by Georges Melies, a pioneer in the art and technology of film-making. Shot in 1902, when cinema was in its infancy, the movie shows cinema's theatrical roots, as well as the resourcefulness and ingenuity a pioneer like Melies possessed, and needed to possess. Clever set design, "special effects" and editing. Good plot with a great innocence and imagination to it all. It also gave us the iconic moon-with-a-rocket-in-its-face image.Such a landmark film in cinema history that it features heavily in Martin Scorsese's homage to cinema - 'Hugo' (2011).

We recently reached our first 100 years of cinema, and no one would dare say that cinema is not art. Yet, this movie was made back when cinema was, at most, a curiosity. A vulgar past time for the uncultured masses, at worst. I recently read a contemporary review of Dante's Inferno (1911, I believe), where the reviewer, a writer and culture woman, spelled this as clearly as this can be said (I translate from my memory): "We thought cinema was trash, but this was wonderful". With that attitude, it's no wonder early cinema was not carefully conserved. This movie was almost lost, and this would have been a great pity. This is a dreamy, wonderful hallucination. The story is told, and it's not seriously told. This movie does not take itself seriously, but it's meant to be funny, ironic, with a hint of some serious critique maybe (doesn't this space adventure remind you of colonialism a little bit?). The scientists are a funny lot, found of throwing science papers to each other's faces and surrounded with pretty assistants with naked legs (the relatively sexy attire of those assistants would have been a no-no until the 1970s in Italian TV). The Selenites are comic enemies. This movie has to be watched. It's entertaining and visually nice after 115 years. It sure is one of the first tries to use cinema in a new way to tell a story, and I believe later cinema (the already mentioned Dante movie included). It's a luck this was preserved and can be enjoyed today.

This is a great representation of the earliest forms of cinema. Despite being made over 100 years ago, I still found the visuals to be very imaginative and entertaining. I imagine the reaction of a viewer in 1902 to be one of awe and wonder. Some will recognize the imagery which is being paid homage to in the Smashing Pumpkins video for Tonight, Tonight. For people interested in the history of film making, this is a must see and an easy watch at only 13 minutes.8/10...but that's just like, my opinion, man# Of Times Watched: Twice

This twelve minute short from famed magician/film-maker George Melies is, quite simply, a spellbinding experience. Due to the lack of dialogue, the film tells its story via a series of pictures. What the film concentrates on most are the special effects, and this film wowed audiences through the apparently magical occurrences appearing on screen. Indeed, these effects are still impressive today, even if its easy to see how they're done. The most memorable image comes when the space ship crashes into the moon's eye - causing it to wince and frown in anger. There are also some excellent moments where our explorers are attacked by jumping goblin creatures which disappear in a puff of smoke when struck.It's all very surreal, especially when we see goddesses sitting on planets and grinning faces appearing in the stars. The plot follows a logical progression from beginning to end, and the sets used are expensively staged and have real depth. Okay, so the film is a bit creaky and jumpy but face it, its nearly a century old and being able to watch it today is simply fantastic. My great-grandparents would have been alive while they were making this. For any fan of the history of cinema, fantastical or not, A TRIP TO THE MOON is a landmark piece not to be missed.