Thanks to David Hudson of IFC.com’s The Daily and just about everybody else for so clearly letting me know what “everyone’s talking about” today: the new trailer for the sci-fi Sundance sensation Moon. I find the excitement interesting for two reasons. First, I think it’s odd when people who’ve already seen a movie go ga-ga for its trailer. Such subjective write-ups also tend to hint that spoilers abound, which can be quite obnoxious. Second, I think it’s strange that we still go completely insane for films like this, even as we immediately address their influences in Kubrick and Tarkovsky. I’m not complaining, of course; I love all derivatives of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Solyaris, Alien, Metropolis, Blade Runner, The Matrix, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, etc. There’s just something about sci-fi that overcomes the usual complaints against lack of originality.

Anyway, because I haven’t yet seen Moon (Karina has, though, read her review from Sundance here), I’m going to attempt to ignore the commentary from people who already love the film (sorry Billington, Goss, etc.). Objective reactions only, after the jump:

• Commenting at Bloody Disgusting, “Chococat” writes:
  

  looks good! But it seems a little too close to 2001…. However, I see it as being less abstract and psychadelic, so that at least is a change of tone.

• While two comments at First Showing call it 2001 meets Sunshine, “The Kid” sums the excitement up best:
  

  Looks good, I love these movies, Alien, Event Horizon, Sunshine, I LOVE EM’!!!!!

• And more comparisons come from excited commenter “MilkMan” at Hollywood Elsewhere:
  

  I have high hopes for this one, although the smiley face and the sex are making me a little nervous. Not that big of a Sam Rockwell fan, either. It hurts me to watch him act. I feel like the gears are always grinding. But it does have a nice Silent Running/Outland/2001/Saturn 3 feel to it.

• Commenters at io9 also reference 2001 and Silent Running, but two readers have excellent points about these kinds of films. “lightninglouie” writes:
  

  Looks cool, though I wish SF movies weren’t trapped aesthetically in the ’80s. (When your futuristic gizmos look more primitive than an iPhone, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.)

• And now io9 commenter “Brian Fowler”:
  

  You know there needs to be a movie where, for once, humans and robots are fighting because its the humans who go crazy and the robots are just trying to defend themselves.

• Commenting at Pajiba, “Odnon” comes up with another influence:
  

  It’s like Wall-E on the moon, but with humans and freakiness!

• And another comparison from commenter “Risk” at Film School Rejects:
  

  This does look like a great upcoming film. But to me it gives off a sense of an old favorite of mine. Sphere, with Sam Jackson. A journey far away where nobody can help, weird things start happening, minds play tricks

• Kurt Halfyard at Twitch seems not to have seen it yet. Here’s his reaction:
  

  Somebody blended my Alien with my 2001:  A Space Odyssey and dropped a dollop of Solyaris in there to boot…This is a slick trailer for a film that certainly does not look like a feature debut of a new director, (that would be Duncan Jones) and I want to fall in love with it right now!

• Commenter “Mod Hip” at JoBlo sees the comparisons and complains about them:
  

  2001 MEETS SOLARIS?
  Looks like someone took the two films, mashed them together and tossed in a hit-or-miss actor. Thankfully it still looks decent… I’m just worried it steals too much from its predecessors… a little theft here and there is okay but anyone who’s seen 2001 will look at that trailer and see a ton of things that look like they were pulled right from Kubrick’s film and recreated at a different angle.

• Okay, maybe we can quote from one blogger who has seen the film, only because it fits the narrative. The Playlist writes:
  

  Today’s girlish fanboy frisson at the trailer’s appearance is slightly annoying though. The rave reviews for the film (or simply the trailer) feel like they’re coming from unlettered folks who have never seen a Kubrick film (and or the archetype that has never strayed over the years).

• Over at I Watch Stuff, commenter “austinjames” made the mistake of saying this “looks like a lame version of 200,” to which “Matt” responded:
  

  this looks NOTHINGGGGG like 2001….maybe you should go watch 2001 again to refresh your memory.

• Lane Brown at Vulture seems to have the perfect explanation for our excitement and reminds us of a comparison we hadn’t thought of:
  

  Since we love all films that make us feel better about our failed childhood dreams of becoming astronauts, we’re just as excited as the rest of the blogosphere today about the new trailer for Moon…it looks to be equal parts 2001 and the “Space Madness” episode of Ren & Stimpy, and it’s directed by Duncan Jones, son of David Bowie, who no doubt has seen the harrowing effects of space madness firsthand.

• And now the trailer:

• Also, check out that poster, which is quite hypnotizing when you scroll your screen up and down and up and down over and over again.