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« on: October 14, 2018, 02:48:12 PM »
The pro’s – the flight and space sequences were very well done, good attention to detail and period correct as best as I could tell. Sound design was very good for these sequences as well. They were good but, IMO, no better than Apollo 13 or The Right Stuff.
The con’s – Ryan Gosling’s portrayal did not, for me, create a relatable or sympathetic character, to the contrary I thought it paints Neil Armstrong as nearly inhuman which is not what I think the intention was. Claire Foy, the actress who portrayed Jan Armstrong (I am not familiar with her) was also not someone I could connect to emotionally, I actually found her portrayal off-putting, especially the fem-splaining she did at times.
The supporting cast however was excellent, especially Jason Clarke as Ed White who was lost in the Apollo 1 fire (an event I thought the film handled superbly).
There is a sequence which made zero sense in the context of the film where we find a hippy encampment and a hipster black man both protesting the investment into NASA and the Vietnam War – of course I understand this was historically accurate, however literally every other minute of film time is either focused on Armstrong, his family, or the other Astronauts – in the context of the film this seemed unnecessary and forced.
I had heard of course about the deliberate omission of the planting of the American Flag preferring to focus instead on the ‘human triumph’ and I was admittedly rather upset/put off by that since there are two kinds of countries of Earth, those that have NOT put men on the Moon, and the United States – but in actuality this was the least of the weaknesses in the film and would not have added much to story, especially within the messaging of the film as edited.
Overall, I felt that this movie provides some great period-correct eye candy for space program fans like myself, but the peek into the lives behind the legends, as told in the film, was a downer as executed. I also felt that the film was particularly negative towards Buzz Aldrin, unnecessarily so.
I hoped that First Man would be an uplifting and inspirational movie, as I found The Right Stuff and Apollo 13 to have been – but that was a bridge too far for this film.
I do think that if you are going to see it, it should be experienced in a theater for the scale and the audio power in order to truly enjoy the flight and space sequences.
'Gimp
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