First Man: Don't bother

I was looking forward to this movie, and it started out well, with a pretty cool sequence involving the X-15. But then it got really long, and really draggy, with way, way too many extreme close ups of Ryan Gosling. And all the action scenes, after the first, look alike.

Save your money, IMO.

[stomachmonkey]

I'm on the fence about it.

I agree, it got slow and did drag.

I think what they were after was snapshots of moments / days in a life.

I think about this often, especially with sci fi or fantasy stuff.

Like, do Jedi's take a dump?

How do they occupy their time when not Jedi'ng?

Does Vader eat?

This to me felt like being an observer at key moments in what was day to day life.

Like, was he really in the bathroom washing his hands when they told him, "yeah, you get to be first guy on the moon?"

Don't think I'd bother with it again though.

[fanaudical]

That's disappointing - I was hoping that was going to be a decent movie.

[Jims5543]

I read some bad reviews on it, thanks for the heads up. Will wait for Netflix.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Does Vader eat?

Liquids through a straw.

[A930Rocket]

Saw it tonight with Ms Rocket. She liked it. I thought it dragged on.

It did cause me to read up Armstrong tonight.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by fanaudical

That's disappointing - I was hoping that was going to be a decent movie.

It's not a bad movie.

It's different.

Yes it did drag and I found myself mentally going through the timeline, "we are still in the Gemini program, exactly how long is this movie".

The acting and dialog was first rate and kept me engaged.

It's not about the first man to set foot on the moon, but rather the man who was the first to set foot on the moon.

It's a biographical documentary is the best I can describe it.

It has action, tension, and some really raw emotional moments but they are only a part of the movie because they were part of his life experience.

Claire Foy, Mrs Armstrong, gave a strong performance.

If you go in expecting All The Right Stuff or Apollo 13 you'll be disappointed.

We find that Neil is not the stereotypical thrill junkie alpha male that Yeager, Aldrin, and some of the others have been portrayed to be.

He's a small mid western town brainiac nerd who can fly and he's got a couple of issues.

I think maybe I went into it expecting an action movie more along the lines of Apollo 13 (I like those) and not so much of a psychological study (I like those too, but want to know what I'm getting in advance). I already knew a decent amount about Armstrong and the space program, but I learned a bit more from the movie.

Agree Foy gave a first rate performance. She's a talent.

[Deschodt]

I thought it was just me.... Phew...

Was too much of a brooding Gosling staring in the distance (that's all he ever does in every movie I've seen him in). Should have been called "marital life of a strange astronaut"...I wish someone had told me it wasn't so much about landing on the moon but a psycho drama of about relationships.

Slow and drawn out... Apollo 13 made an actual failure seem like a success, this movie made mankind's greatest accomplishment feel like a failure... I was depressed after it, really...

Yawn.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

I thought it was just me.... Phew...

Was too much of a brooding Gosling staring in the distance (that's all he ever does in every movie I've seen him in). Should have been called "marital life of a strange astronaut"...I wish someone had told me it wasn't so much about landing on the moon but a psycho drama of about relationships.

Slow and drawn out... Apollo 13 made an actual failure seem like a success, this movie made mankind's greatest accomplishment feel like a failure... I was depressed after it, really...

Yawn.

Don't disagree.

But I think they key is this movie was not about mankind's greatest accomplishment.

And therein lies our disappointment.

[GH85Carrera]

So they took humankind's greatest adventure-journey and turned it into a chick flick?

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

So they took humankind's greatest adventure-journey and turned it into a chick flick?

Not even because it's almost a failed marriage story (gotta look it up now, wonder if Mrs armstrong stayed married to that sour puss)... My wife didn't enjoy it either. Said it was at times too slow, at others too stressful (we get it, rockets shake, every scene is filmed inside a clothes dryer).

Yeah, my disappointment was mostly that I excitedly took my kids to see the story of the first men on the moon (oldest just built the lego Saturn V) and one kid fell asleep, the other commented it wasn't a very good movie... I felt bad... I'm sure it'll be hailed by critics as a great psycho drama with insight on the astronauts's private lives... BTW they painted Buzz Aldrin as a complete dick, was he really ? Gotta look that up too...

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Don't disagree.

But I think they key is this movie was not about mankind's greatest accomplishment.

And therein lies our disappointment.

Yup...

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

Yeah, my disappointment was mostly that I excitedly took my kids to see the story of the first men on the moon (oldest just built the lego Saturn V) and one kid fell asleep, the other commented it wasn't a very good movie... I felt bad... I'm sure it'll be hailed by critics as a great psycho drama with insight on the astronauts's private lives... BTW they painted Buzz Aldrin as a complete dick, was he really ? Gotta look that up too...

There are literally dozens of movies and documentaries about the Space Program/Space Race.

The obvious one is "The Right Stuff". But even this go to movie had quite a few errors, especially on the Happy Bottom riding club.

But have you kids watch the HBO series "From the earth to the Moon". There is a book by the same name, which is also a great read.

Sam Shepard and Deke Slayton's book "Moon Shot" was also great, but a bit more focused on their parts.

I found a documentary called "Uncensored" Apollo 12, on Amazon Prime. Not high quality, but it adds more information on 12, that is not widely known.

Main reason Armstrong and Aldrin were chosen for 11, Armstrong was cool under pressure and Aldrin was Mr. Fixit. Aldrin wrote the book on extra-vehicular activity. There was serious debate on Armstrong vs. Aldrin to be the first to actually walk on the moon.

And Buzz likes to say it was a tie, since they both LANDED on the moon at the same time.

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

So they took humankind's greatest adventure-journey and turned it into a chick flick?

Well, I wasn't gonna say that . . . but yeah.

[CurtEgerer]

There are so many excellent documentaries about Armstrong and Apollo 11 using actual footage and interviews (most are on YouTube for free). I have zero interest in Hollywood's dramatized/distorted interpretation of same.

[Steve Carlton]

I’ll still go see it because I’m a big Ryan Gosling fan (especially Blade Runner 2049). It’ll be better because I’ll go in with low expectations...

[A930Rocket]

They didn’t stay married. Read after the movie.

I also didn’t like the shaking. Is it really that bad? How could you see or operate anything?

Originally Posted by Deschodt

Not even because it's almost a failed marriage story (gotta look it up now, wonder if Mrs armstrong stayed married to that sour puss)... My wife didn't enjoy it either. Said it was at times too slow, at others too stressful (we get it, rockets shake, every scene is filmed inside a clothes dryer).

[Steve Carlton]

I saw it tonight and really liked it. A different style movie, yes. Too many close ups, yes. Some great scenes all along the way. I would have preferred if it didn't focus on Neil's marriage as much as it did, but there was a lot to like.

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by red-beard

There is a book by the same name, which is also a great read.