[Movie Review] First Man (2018)
Plot Summary: A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.
Director: Damien Chazelle
Writer: Josh Singer
Runtime: 2 h 21 min
Main Cast:
- Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong
- Claire Foy as Janet Armstrong
- Pablo Schreiber as Jim Lovell
- Chrisopher Abbott as Dave Scott
- Ethan Embry as Pete Conrad
- Kyle Chandler as Deke Slayton
- Jason Clarke as Edward Higgins White
- Corey Stoll as Buz Aldrin
Review by: Heidi
I was excited to see this movie. It’s definitely a story that deserves to be told, guaranteed drama and excitement, as well as awesome graphics and sound. I invited my husband and in-laws to come with me since they all work at NASA. My husband even wore his NASA shirt to the viewing (*cough* nerd *cough*). We were all ready and prepared to see the story of the first landing on the moon to be retold with the technology of today. Boy were we in for…. something.
The movie begins and we’re watching a man pilot a plane up into the atmosphere and then crash land. We soon find out that this man is … *drum roll* Neil Armstrong!!! We follow him home from the crash and learn of his family life, very depressing but I won’t ruin it if you don’t know. Unfortunate events lead him to want a change, and so he applies to be an astronaut in the Apollo Program. We watch him train for a little bit, watch him fail and succeed. Watch lots of people die. And eventually watch Neil Armstrong land on the moon.
What I Liked:
I liked learning about Neil Armstrong’s life. I literally knew nothing about him, nothing about any of the other people that were with him on his mission. And nothing about the first moon landing. It was interesting get a glimpse into how they trained for space missions back in the 50s and 60’s and watching the technology change from when Neil started all the way up until Apollo 11. Even the spacesuit themselves change. They definitely paid a lot of attention to the little details making sure that everything fit the time period, at least as far as I know, I wasn’t born yet.
What I Didn’t Like:
I did not like the way it was filmed, it gave me a headache. I’m not sure what they did, but I assume it was to make the movie seem like it was shot in the 50s and 60s. I did not like it. The picture was fuzzy and shaky. Anytime they were getting ready to launch I felt dizzy. The opening scene with Neil in the plane was nauseating to me. But if you don’t care about that I also didn’t like how emotionless Neil seemed. There were many times that I could’ve and should’ve cried but I didn’t because I wasn’t moved by the acting. This could be entirely based on Neil Armstrong’s actual personality and not Ryan Gosling’s acting ability, but if so I don’t relate to him either. And lastly I hated the way the movie ended. And that’s all I will say.
Summary
I was very disappointed with this film. I’m not an expert at movies and I’m sure the production quality was good. But as far as an average movie goer is concerned I wouldn’t waste my money. I feel like the story was handed to them on a golden platter and they threw it on the ground. It was not exciting, I was not cheering with joy, celebrating America at the end like I expected. I was just left confused and empty. I was left with so much want that I could not seem to get over. I’d watch it on an international flight or when I’m sick and have nothing else to do. But for such a big American history win, I expected a lot more.
Images Courtesy of IMDB
