As a longtime science fiction fan, I thought watching a movie version of "From the Earth to the Moon" would be entertaining. My mistake, at least in this instance. This is a long-drawn-out, story-weak exercise in patience. The director seemed to be stuck on establishing shots and irrelevant scenes, to the point where I began fast-forwarding past any scene that didn't appear to be advancing the story. This got me through the second half-hour in about five minutes. What story there is has only a vague resemblance to Verne's original, and one waits forever for the rocket to finally take off.<br /><br />Even minor matters like the background music become annoying: instead of an original score, for the most part what plays in the background are snippets of patriotic American music, and often one wonders what this has to do with the scene.<br /><br />All in all, if you want to see a screen adaption of Jules Verne, watch the classic Disney "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" or "Around the World in 80 Days", and avoid this outing.