--- title: "The Adventures of Pluto Nash" year: 2002 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-adventures-of-pluto-nash" fi1m_score: 32 critics_score: 25 critics_reviews: 9 published: "2026-09-16T14:46:34.105381+00:00" updated: "2026-09-16T14:46:49.275468+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002) Directed by Ron Underwood · 1h 35m · MPA PG-13 · Action, Comedy, Science Fiction **Fi1m score: 32** · Critics 25 from 9 reviews *In a sentence:* Eddie Murphy runs a nightclub on the Moon and somehow the evening still drags > Eddie Murphy is amiable company in a lunar gangster comedy that gives him little worth saying. Ron Underwood keeps it moving, but the jokes rarely land and the supporting cast have too little to do. ## Synopsis Pluto Nash (Eddie Murphy) runs a nightclub on the Moon, where gangsters make his life difficult. Staying out of their reach becomes his immediate concern. Around him are Bruno (Randy Quaid) and Dina Lake (Rosario Dawson), in a lunar society with robots and familiar hazards for anyone in the nightclub trade. Organised crime has followed people into space, and Pluto has to contend with it while trying to carry on as a club owner. Leaving Earth behind does not mean leaving its troubles behind. ## Review Ron Underwood’s *The Adventures of Pluto Nash* takes a serviceable idea for a comedy and finds surprisingly little to do with it. Eddie Murphy plays a nightclub owner on the Moon, dodging gangsters in surroundings that ought to offer plenty of comic possibilities. The science fiction supplies the scenery while the gangster business supplies the activity, and neither produces enough laughs. It is a poor comedy with an amiable lead and occasional signs that someone was enjoying the possibilities of the setting. Eddie Murphy remains easy company, which helps more than it should. His Pluto Nash is likeable enough to follow, but Neil Cuthbert’s screenplay gives him too few opportunities to do anything amusing within the business of avoiding criminals. We were bored watching Pluto dodge gangsters, because the pursuit gives Eddie Murphy so little chance to be funny. His performance is restrained to the point where we begin waiting for him to take charge of a scene, rather than simply get through it. Rosario Dawson brings some welcome directness to Dina Lake, and her presence makes the film easier to sit through. Randy Quaid’s Bruno and the other supporting roles ought to broaden the comedy beyond its leading man, but the ensemble never develops much shared momentum. John Cleese offers a brief diversion as James. There is considerable comic promise in this company, but the script relies too heavily on our pleasure at recognising the people in it. Bill Brzeski’s production design is the part we would most readily defend, though its conspicuous artificiality will not be to every taste. The lunar surroundings provide something to inspect during the dull patches, and a few visual gags suggest the comedy could have made more use of them. Oliver Wood’s cinematography does not make the setting feel especially strange or inviting. We can accept a future that looks manufactured, but we need a stronger reason to spend time there than the novelty of a nightclub on the Moon. Paul Hirsch and Alan Heim edit a film that moves between pieces of action without acquiring much comic pace. The scenes get on with their business, but jokes need time to develop, and a brisk departure cannot improve one that has failed. John Powell’s score cannot compensate for the thin comic writing either. At 95 minutes, this is not an excessive commitment on paper, yet long stretches feel like waiting for the cast to be given something worthwhile. Against the modest demands of a science-fiction gangster spoof, the failure is straightforward. The setting need not be plausible, and the plot need not be new, but the characters must have funny things to say or do. Ron Underwood settles too often for the familiarity of the gangster material, leaving the lunar setting to supply interest by itself. There are patches of energy, and the unpretentious approach is welcome, but too much of Neil Cuthbert’s screenplay seems satisfied with getting its characters through the plot. Anyone drawn by Eddie Murphy should lower their expectations of how much comedy he gets to supply. There is no compensating pleasure in watching the film go extravagantly wrong: most of it is too ordinary for that. For a night when the point is to laugh, we would choose something else. *Fi1m score 32, published 16 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics find The Adventures of Pluto Nash a flat science-fiction comedy that wastes its cast and gets too few laughs from its lunar nightclub setting. Eight of the nine reviews are negative, with none positive. The limited praise clusters around the supporting players and occasional diversions rather than the story: cameos, visual gags and moments of amiability offer brief relief. Variety singles out Rosario Dawson as the most refreshing presence among actors otherwise given little worthwhile to do. The reservations centre on weak jokes, listless execution and an underdeveloped future setting, though the production design divides opinion. The Los Angeles Times counts it among the few redeeming features; The AV Club finds it ugly. The Guardian supplies the sole mixed assessment, seeing reasonably lively, familiar entertainment that looks tired. That is a modest dissent from a consensus which finds the comic possibilities largely squandered. ### Reviews we read (9) - **The Guardian** (50/100, inferred): The film is a so-so action comedy vehicle for Eddie Murphy as a lunar club-owner. It features familiar, reasonably lively material with support from a cast including Rosario Dawson and John Cleese, but ends up looking a bit tired. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2002/aug/30/culture.reviews3) - **Evening Standard**, Sheila Johnston (30/100, inferred): The critic notes Murphy's likeable turn as a sexist nightclub owner with quirky robots but says the expensive space comedy won't help his career, though it might appeal as an unpretentious B-flick. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/fly-me-to-the-moon-says-murphy-7381912.html) - **Los Angeles Times**, Jan Stuart (30/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a listless sci-fi comedy that fails to exploit its comic possibilities. He singles out the production design and a few visual gags as the only redeeming elements amid underused talent. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-aug-19-et-stuart19-story.html) - **Time Out**, JFu (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the lunar sci-fi comedy unconvincing and poorly grounded despite Eddie Murphy's efforts as a nightclub owner dodging gangsters. Some cameos provide brief diversion amid the lame jokes and shaky execution. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-adventures-of-pluto-nash) - **Variety**, Robert Koehler (30/100, inferred): The critic deems the film an inconsequential and ill-conceived project with talented actors slumming it. He singles out Rosario Dawson as the most refreshing element and notes the director's failure to realize the visual potential of the lunar setting. [Read](https://variety.com/2002/film/reviews/the-adventures-of-pluto-nash-1200546750/) - **Empire**, Scott Russon (10/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a dire wannabe sci-fi comedy whose lazy story and low-tech future vision make it a dud for Eddie Murphy's CV, better jettisoned far away. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/adventures-pluto-nash-review/) - **The AV Club**, Nathan Rabin (10/100, inferred): The critic's verdict is that the film is a waste of talent and money and a headache-inducing mess without direction or purpose. They single out the listless direction by Ron Underwood, Eddie Murphy's tepid lead performance, and the flamboyantly ugly production design for complaint, while noting the supporting cast as a faint glimmer of hope that ultimately vanishes. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/the-adventures-of-pluto-nash-1798197788) - **The New York Times**, Elvis Mitchell (10/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a cold vacuum of a comedy that strands its talented cast. He singles out the prefab lunar sets and the script's failure to generate laughs despite the strong ensemble. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/17/movies/film-review-a-club-the-mob-a-hit-and-a-miss-all-on-the-moon.html) - **Eye for Film**, Angus Wolfe Murray (30/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a false-concept mobster spoof dressed up as sci-fi, with a script that makes Austin Powers look intelligent and a moonscape resembling Las Vegas in a bubble. They single out the lack of laughs and weak performances as major flaws, wishing Eddie Murphy had stayed on the moon. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/pluto-nash-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) ## Details - **Director:** Ron Underwood - **Director:** Ron Underwood - **Screenplay:** Neil Cuthbert - **Cinematography:** Oliver Wood - **Editor:** Paul Hirsch, Alan Heim - **Music:** John Powell - **Production design:** Bill Brzeski - **Costume design:** Ha Nguyen - **Producer:** Louis A. Stroller, Martin Bregman, Michael Bregman - **Cast:** Eddie Murphy as Pluto Nash; Randy Quaid as Bruno; Rosario Dawson as Dina Lake; Joe Pantoliano as Mogan; Jay Mohr as Tony Francis; Luis Guzmán as Felix Laranga; James Rebhorn as Belcher; Peter Boyle as Rowland - **Runtime:** 1h 35m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13 - **Release (the US):** 16 August 2002 - **Genres:** Action, Comedy, Science Fiction - **Budget:** $100 million - **Box office:** $7 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7KYlzex1ZQ ## Where to watch in the US - The Roku Channel: free, hd - Tubi: free, hd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $2.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $9.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-16.* Also available in: AT, AU, BE, BR, CZ, DK, ES, FR, GB, IT, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PL, RO, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Fifth Element* (1997): A crowded future whose peculiar inhabitants give the scenery some competition. - *The Brother from Another Planet* (1984): An alien visitor encounters Earth with more curiosity and a quieter humour. - *Galaxy Quest* (1999): An ensemble space comedy that gives its supporting players proper comic work. - *Space Sweepers* (2021): Working lives in space, with a scrappy crew worth spending time alongside. - *The World's End* (2013): Another collision of drinking establishments and science fiction, with much sharper jokes. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-adventures-of-pluto-nash