Crater – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Crater

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

movie2023

62%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

Stand By Me meets The Goonies on the moon—earnest but uneven sci-fi adventure about grief, friendship, and one last hurrah.

67%

6.6

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Crater

movie

2023

62%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

Stand By Me meets The Goonies on the moon—earnest but uneven sci-fi adventure about grief, friendship, and one last hurrah.

67%

6.6

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67%

6.6

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Screenwise Verdict

Crater wants to be an emotional, meaningful adventure about friendship and loss set against a cool lunar backdrop. And to its credit, it tries—there's genuine heart here about a kid processing his father's death while facing relocation away from everything he knows.

But here's the thing: those middling scores aren't lying. This is competently made but ultimately forgettable Disney+ fare. The 'Stand By Me' structure has been done better, and the sci-fi elements feel more like set dressing than fully realized world-building. It's not bad—your 10-year-old space enthusiast will probably enjoy it fine—but it's not going to become anyone's favorite movie.

If you've got a tween dealing with grief, transitions, or saying goodbye to friends, this might hit at the right moment. Otherwise, it's a perfectly adequate rainy afternoon watch that'll be out of mind by dinner.

Age Fit

Best for 9-13 year olds who can handle the emotional weight of parental loss and are drawn to space-adventure stories. The sci-fi setting and tween friend dynamics won't hold much appeal for younger kids or older teens, and adults will likely find it earnest but derivative.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

Coming-of-age adventure centered on friendship and dealing with grief after losing a parent. Models cooperation among a diverse friend group on a meaningful journey. The emotional core around loss and relocation is handled sensitively for a family film. Pacing is balanced for the genre without being overly chaotic.

Imaginative

Lunar colony setting offers a fresh sci-fi backdrop for a classic adventure story, though the 'kids on one last adventure' premise is well-trodden territory (Stand By Me in space). The crater exploration concept invites curiosity about space and unknown worlds. However, execution appears fairly conventional based on middling audience scores—not breaking new ground in storytelling.

Safe

Common Sense Media rates it for age 10, suggesting age-appropriate content for tweens. As a Disney+ family adventure, likely contains some peril and emotional weight (father's death is central to plot) but no indicators of graphic violence, gore, or inappropriate content. The grief theme is handled within family-film parameters. Some action sequences expected but within genre norms.

Enriching

Tackles meaningful themes of loss, friendship, and making the most of limited time. The lunar mining colony setting could spark interest in space exploration and science. However, the mixed-to-middling reviews (5.4 IMDb, 2.9 Letterboxd) suggest the execution doesn't fully deliver on its potential for deep engagement or memorable takeaways. Appears to be competent but not exceptional in delivering its messages.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

Tackles real emotional territory (losing a parent, saying goodbye to friends) in an age-appropriate sci-fi wrapper
Diverse friend group on a meaningful adventure could resonate with tweens navigating their own transitions
Lunar colony setting offers a different backdrop for classic coming-of-age themes—space mining communities, permanent relocation to other planets
Decent entry point for kids interested in space exploration without being overly technical

⚠

What to Watch For

Father's death is the inciting incident—kids who've experienced loss might find it heavy or cathartic depending on where they are
The 5.4 IMDb and 2.9 Letterboxd scores tell you this isn't a hidden gem—it's watchable but forgettable
Some peril and action sequences typical of adventure films, though nothing beyond PG territory

Conversation Starters

"If you only had a short time left with your friends before moving away, what would you want to do together?"
"What do you think it would actually be like to grow up on the moon? What would you miss about Earth?"
"The main character is dealing with losing his dad—how do you think that changes what this adventure means to him?"
"If you could explore one mysterious place before leaving somewhere forever, where would it be and why?"

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