Review of First Man (2018) by Brent_Marchant — 19 Oct 2018

It's almost inconceivable that a story as monumental as the first moon landing could be made boring, but, unfortunately, director Damien Chazelle has found a way to do just that. While the filmmaker's biopic about astronaut Neil Armstrong takes a different approach to its subject than that of other historic space program pictures (like "The Right Stuff" and "Apollo 13") -- one that's more quietly contemplative and less bombastically heroic -- there's still something to be said for making it engaging, and that's where the film falls flat.

This overlong slog, filled with easily edited material, too many protracted shots of silent emoting and images that are often filmed far too up close, tries the viewer's patience from early on -- and never eases up in these regards.

As the lonely, brooding protagonist, Ryan Gosling delivers a fine performance in portraying the character for who he is, but, when placed in the context of a story that fundamentally lacks something to draw viewers into it, that effort is, regrettably, lost.

The dark, sullen overall tone of the project does not help, either, especially in a film that showcases one of mankind's greatest accomplishments. In many ways, this plays, albeit loosely, like a film adaptation of David Bowie's "Space Oddity," but, personally, I'd rather listen to the song that sit through this tedious exercise.

Kudos to Chazelle for being willing to try something different, but it's too bad this didn't show up in the finished product.