Review of First Man (2018) by Robert R — 23 Oct 2018

"First Man" is incredible. The main complaint I see is that "It's boring" and "They made space exploration boring" and those people were probably expecting this movie to be something like Star Wars.

First Man is a very slow movie that the average viewer may not be able to sit through. Ryan Gosling's acting is excellent and conveys a very realistic character in Neil Armstrong, who this movie is completely about.

This movie isn't about the NASA mission or how we got to the moon; it's about Neil and it's all from his perspective. We see Neil's tragedies, his accomplishments. The music is incredible when it does play since a lot of the movie is quiet (for good reason).

The moon landing scene is spectacular and you feel so much for Neil Armstrong and you feel like you are on the moon yourself. The main thing this movie suffers I believe (and it's a nitpick) is the characterization of Buzz Aldrin, who feels like an extra with occasional lines in the movie.

He jokes about things that aren't funny in the movie and he becomes kind of unlikable, which I'm not sure if the real Buzz Aldrin was like that, but you don't care about him very much, which isn't good since he was the second man on the moon.

As a movie that focuses on Neil Armstrong and his feelings alone; it's excellent. It's slow which is nice since it makes it so much more of an experience, rather than a quick action blockbuster.

This movie is incredible and if you think it's boring then it's just not a movie for you; it doesn't mean it's bad, it's out of this world.