This movie should be seen along with "In the Shadow of the Moon" as well as "For All Mankind". The last one I mentioned, "For All Mankind", came out around 1992 and the producers actually had a very hard time making it due to a limited budget as well as limited interest overall at that time. It should be mentioned that after the first moon landing interest by most people quickly faded. In fact, by the time of the last landing, Apollo 17, public interest was so low that NASA supposedly paid the networks to show the moonwalks of Cernan and Schmidt. I do remember that even then the moonwalks were shown in split screen along with college and pro football games so as not to alienate the average TV viewer (please remember that this was long before we had all the cable channels and home video recorders). The moon walks were really a disappointment; that is why I, for one, do not expect to see any again for a long time. Some other country may put a man or men on the moon to show the world they can do so, but it will probably be a one time deal for publicity only. The possibility of a moon base in our lifetime is rather low.Which is why this film is so great. It actually revives interest in these old missions by showing details that were not shown when they first aired. The depiction of the landing process for Apollo 15 was fantastic; and now I can see how the astronauts went through the landing procedure. This film even provides a better look on the Apollo 11 moonwalk-something that my generation could not quite as well with that black & white TV camera that the astronauts used on that very historic night. Oh, we saw a lot that night, but the overall perspective was missing. That is what is so great about this film. The dangers faced by the Apollo 15 moon walkers (falling down into the canyon) were not understood very well by NASA, let along the average TV viewer of that time (such as me). This film shows the "hidden" dangers quite well!! Much more exciting that way than when we were viewing the moon walk live!It is a great film. I was a teenager when the walks took place and quite frankly I could live the rest of my life quite happily without seeing another one occurring. The problem is that kids the age of my grandkids did not see those walks and nobody really knows when they will be able to see one. Therefore, this film is great as it shows them what we saw; in even better color and detail. It is misleading as the quotes from the astronauts were not actually read by those people; the movie implies the voices heard were those astronauts. In reality, the quotes were being read by professional actors. To see the actual astronauts and hear them speak you need to watch, "In the Shadow of the Moon". Still, this is a 40 minute movie well worth seeing; I certainly enjoyed it. Enjoyed it even better than watching some of those moon walks when they were actually happening!!!!!

The world now seems to be in an odd stage of downsizing, in which objects such as DVD and CD players are steadily decreasing in size. It is obviously much cooler to have a smaller iPod than a larger one. This is not so with theater screens, as is the case with the IMAX, the enormous, widely-known theater system that has stunned audiences upon its release, and to this day. As long as the material's right.The main problem with 'Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D" is that it uses the huge screen as its main advantage. It is dull, uninformative, and relentlessly eager to please and amaze us with its corny special effects and inspiring quotes from famous names such as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Another problem with the film is that it doesn't even take the time to sit down and interview those lucky few who have had such an extraordinary experience as to have been to the moon. Instead, the writers have simply pressed COPY and PASTE and hired famous voices such as Morgan Freeman, Bill Paxton, and Matt Damon to imitate their famous quotes. This tactic is unrelentingly repetitive and tedious.I'd say without one moment's hesitation that I didn't learn one piece of information from the film that I didn't already know.And it repeatedly insisted on irritating the crap out of me with its insistent sentimentality. Every three minutes there seems to be a cue for Tom Hanks' voice to say something like "Without the contributions of these brave men and women..." Watching the film is like watching a bad commercial. For forty agonizing minutes.1/4

This movie is shockingly short. Granted I did not check the run time before purchasing a ticket, but I expected the movie to be longer.Also, despite excellent effects, amazing pictures (especially when viewed in a IMAX 3D), and excellent narration; the movie did not contain much information. The movie gives more of the feelings behind a journey to the moon, pointing out how something might have gone wrong, that it's a long journey, the people to take the journey were heroes, etc... No actual useful information. This disappointed me as I was expecting something educational.One thing I the movie did provide was less popular comments from less known astronauts from the other Apollo missions.Other than the short length and the lack of educational comment, it was enjoyable to watch. The visual effects are surprising and realistic (at times, because of the 3d effects you feel the sudden urge to dodge something or get out of the way of something coming at you)

Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D is another amazing IMAX film by NASA and Lockheed Martin. Not since Space Station 3D (2002) have I seen such a tribute to astronauts, their missions and the space program. While Magnificent Desolation is not quite as impressive as Space Station 3D (all footage filmed on location) it is still a "world rocker" to be sure. It really makes you feel like you are on the moon as a spectator watching the astronauts. I'd love to see them ad another 75 minutes to these films. even the skeptics should go see this one. It's as close as you're going to get unless NASA/Lockheed has another moon mission and films it in 3D.