The new Netflix film “In the Shadow of the Moon” poses the questions: What if you could stop a war before it began? Can you truly erase an idea before it spreads?  

The mystery-thriller was directed by Jim Mickle and stars Boyd Holbrook from “Narcos,” Cleopatra Coleman from “The Last Man on Earth” and Michael C. Hall, who starred in “Dexter.” 

Holbrook portrays Locke, a hopeful cop and father-to-be who works a beat when a murder case turns unusual: three victims with nothing in common are murdered. However, their deaths occur at exactly the same time, far from each other and in the same horrific way. After accidentally killing the murderer, the police force believes everything is over, until nine years later, when it happens again. 

The movie time-jumps every nine years, and as the story unfolds, Locke becomes more undone as he tries to solve the case and stop the killer. But, we later find out that the growing number of victims are not as innocent as they appear. 

While the movie leaps around in tone and time, it is constantly engaging. The film goes from cop drama, to family drama to sci-fi mystery. The story itself stays easy to follow, which viewers might be grateful for, given the narrative could have easily evolved into a convoluted mess some time travel movies become. The script makes the time travel methods easily understandable. The time paradox issue presents a problem in this genre, like in “Looper,” or the most recent “Avengers: Endgame.”

Netflix’s filmmaking capabilities are growing as it challenges itself to take on new genres. The films seem to get better, and “In the Shadow of the Moon” is thankfully no exception.