Walter Koenig takes on a starring role as Col. Jason Grant, who, along with his co-pilot Ray Tanner(played by Bruce Campbell) is manning a routine space shuttle flight sometime in the 1990's when they encounter a derelict alien spaceship containing an ancient humanoid corpse and a self-contained cylinder that are brought back to Earth where they cause a deadly incident that convinces authorities to send Grant & Tanner back to the moon to investigate, where they encounter a sinister alien power determined to invade the Earth... Campy film has two appealing performances by Koenig and Campbell, but an unoriginal story that fizzles out by the simplistic climax. Not bad really, though the music score is unmemorable, and plot reminiscent of the film "Lifeforce".

This was made in 1989 but seems like an early-50s movie:2 Astronauts find some alien stuff in damaged spaceship.It's exactly 14000 years old.They bring it back to earth. It becomes a robot. They kill it.They go to the moon where it came from andFind an alien base and a cryo alien woman 14K years oldWho thaws to look like us (and has incredible breasts),And engages in sex exactly as humans doIncluding touching and hugging afterAll this would be hilarious if it were John Agar and some of his pals. The robots are better than stunt men in shrimp-creature suits. But the dialogue is weak.As a kid I was amazed that so many aliens had humanoid form. I hadn't yet learned about "the production costs for a getup like that? Not in this budget. Make her a human girl and get her blouse off ..."Koenig thinks out loud in a deadpan and sarcastic tone. This was great on the bridge when they were boldly going, but here he just seems like a bored and tired TV actor.Some OK special effects. Worth a watch if you can FF and skip ahead.

I was very impressed the first time I saw the movie. And my opinion hasn't changed over the years. Honestly, I can't find any flaws or weak points in Moontrap. The special effects are great, everything from the alien space ships to the robot creatures was imposing. The music helps building up the right atmosphere and is always fitting. The plot is exciting, dramatical and quite pacey. You never get the chance to bore. The acting is pretty good, too.I'd say, that the story isn't very predictable. I can't be sure about that, though, because I've seen Moontrap so many times that there are hardly any surprises. But even the fact that you can see it over and over again should tell much about the quality of the movie.There are some films, that you can (barely) watch once and then never again. This isn't one of them.

NASA astronauts Koenig and Campbell encounter damaged alien space craft, with a torn hull, while orbiting moon in their shuttle, Chamelot. Discovering a mysterious self-contained alloy shell inside the ship, Koenig also finds the skeletal remains of an actual humanoid, carbon dated at 14000 years old! The shell actually houses a hostile "robotic species" with an incredible intellect..as we soon learn, it uses "spare parts" from whatever junk is lying around to create a body for which will allow it to move about. Returning to Cape Canaveral, the robotic monster goes on a rampage, laser blasting military personnel and anyone else, despite peaceful attempts to see what it wants. After finally "subduing" the machine, the government sends Koenig and Campbell to the moon to see if there's in fact any other signs of life which might exist. Once there, Koenig and Campbell do find the remains of a once thriving alien civilization, skeletons, weapons, and buildings, reduced to rubble or buried in the dust. What Koenig and his colleagues do not realize is that the species which left the humanoids dead so long ago have waited for the right kind of parts needed to juice up their ship, an attack on Earth imminent. It'll be up to Koenig to stop them or else. Koenig and Campbell also find an actual female of that civilization alive, kept sealed in a chamber from harm. Getting off the moon will be especially difficult when they find their lunar lander missing, commandeered by the robotoid species.Plenty of intriguing ideas and admirable use of limited resources, Moontrap is a fine example of creating something out of nothing. The robot monsters are rather nifty little creations, not to mention you get action on the moon and within an alien space craft. Impressive recreations of various equipment associated with NASA. How the filmmakers accomplished so much with so little is a testament to what you can do with ingenuity and creativity.Nice star vehicle for Star Trek's Walter Koenig(..which was initially what drew me to it in the video rental store as a kid)with able support from wise-cracking Bruce Campbell as his partner.I imagine there are those who could balk at certain aspects regarding flawed science, such as the scenes on the moon where bodies and the robot creatures move fast where gravity is a problem. The whole scenario involving 14000 year old human life on the moon might cause eye-rolling as well, but I thought it was certainly original, which is something in itself. Also rather creepy are the robot monsters which not only use junk parts from whatever metal might be lying around, but from actual human beings as well! You can actually see such things as a spine, various bones(..even the head of a victim!), and other human parts melded in with mechanical pieces. The shell opens and a robot head appears, with thin, strand-like tentacles which reach for the parts necessary for building it a body.A criticism early on one might could use is how the first robot monster withstands the bullet-fire of a military arsenal despite the fact that it basically used metal in a laboratory..highly doubtful that such material, for the creation of legs and arms with claws, could remain insusceptible to a constant barrage of gunfire. Leigh Lombardi is the humanoid, Mera, discovered by the astronauts in the chamber on the moon.