Review of Apollo 11 (2019) by Mixedmessage — 02 Mar 2019

This film is an experience, as dramatic as any fiction and ultimately far more meaningful because it is real. I recommend it as much as possible for literally everyone. It is a masterful blend of original footage, simple animations, and modern film technique that carries you along like a thrill ride while almost subliminally conveying how complex, dangerous, and massive a project this was.

The pacing is almost perfect: the buildup to launch is like a movie in itself and leaves you amazed at what they did before it even lifts off. Each key milestone of the voyage gets a countdown and graphic explanation, and as the movie goes on and you just start to get tired they pick up the pace so it ends with you not quite wanting it to be over yet. In general the use of music/sound is really effective at conveying the danger and significance of events, my only real knock is that occasionally it was so loud it obscured actual speech I wanted to hear better - especially during the actual landing sequence.

This is the 50th anniversary and you really owe it to yourself and your kids to see this now while it is out on Imax. You could watch it at home on TV, but no matter how big your TV or how loud your speakers it won't be the same. More people around the world watched Apollo 11 than any other event in history, and there's something to be said for seeing it with a crowd of other people. An unrelated observation from the film: I found it eye opening that even though Nixon was a straight up crook, he still understood what it meant to be president and made truly presidential remarks, to say nothing of the clips of JFK. It really puts into perspective where we are as a nation today.