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.
“Our movie about Neil Armstrong isn't doing well at the Box Office? Fine,we'll take it from here with Michael Myers” -Some random imbecile at Universal Pictures AKA that one dude who won't know how enthralling First Man is.
But in all seriousness,First Man is destined to have a huge impact on everyone's minds. Also WARNING,I guess: This will be another bias on how IMAX is still the best place to watch a movie...Even if everyone should expect that from now.
So,to start things off,don't worry. for a movie that narrates the events between 1961 and 1969,it doesn't jump from year to year. You'll experience huge time jumps,while at the same time exploring how many tears and oil splatter it took to make this big leap (no pun intended),alongside Ryan Gosling playing Neil Armstrong amsterfully and a Claire Foy who feels pretty stale in emotions throughout,carrying the “seriously worried” look every 24/7.
Also,just like A Quiet Place,sometimes the Sound Effects help carrying the story. Whether it's a BEEP or the sound of an alarm,it still pulls you through.
Speaking of sound,man. With every missile engine going and the sound STRONGLY fading away after the moon landing,things won't get any louder than that… Until the next Godzilla movie comes out.
If there’s a thing I can praise the most alongside the story is the Production Design. Nothing great on it,but there always was that feeling of pure classic reality through the movie,followed by grainy 35mm footage that feels like it came out 1 or 2 years after the Moon Landing actually happened….Until the IMAX Footage kicks in,in that case...Well,it’s great as always,but that’s to be expected from IMAX…
For issues and headaches,there was an overuse of Shaky Cam throughout the movie...Not all of it,as the IMAX Sequences were slow and perfectly normal.
And the score by Justin Hurwitz is weird at times. Had Thomas Newman been the composer,I could see his direction,instead of “Oh,I’ll try my best to make that campy 70s space movie feeling with the music”.
But in that case...Hell,this must be tough… This may be the second shortest review I’ve ever done (Revenge is still on top) since everything about it felt great...And seeing it with a friend in IMAX was enthralling. SPOILERS: He loved the hell out of it,and I’m glad he did. Everyone needs to discover these new ways of immersing you into the movie… They’re really worth the $20 or 30. Oh shoot,the movie. First Man is an amazing albeit tension-filled time at the movies,with Ryan Gosling’s calmest role since...Ever?
And hey,for a director who’s all about music...This was a pivotal change of pace!
