Review of First Man (2018) by Percy M — 19 Dec 2018
A visually stunning and superbly-acted film centred around one of mankind's greatest achievements. Ryan Gosling plays Neil Armstrong as the first man to set foot on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission in the late 1960s. The film purposely makes you feel like you're in the cockpit being blasted into space; using plenty of point of view angles, close-ups, and shaky cam, and limiting the use of wide shots. This creates an intimate sense of the fear, chaos, claustrophobia and intensity of space travel; and it works brilliantly. All the scenes in space are where the film soars. The score, acting, and cinematography of the moon landing scene is the highlight. Even though I know what happens it still had me on the edge of my seat.
Where the film falls flat and drags is all the Earth scenes involving the family. Gosling is pretty monotone and expressionless in a lot of the scenes; and even if the real Neil Armstrong was similarly stoic and private in nature I feel the film would have benefited from a more colourful performance. You start to feel the length of the film in these in-between scenes and the boredom does kick in. This movie won't be for everyone. It's not your typical sci-fi action movie; it's a slow-burning character study.
This review of First Man (2018) was written by Percy M on 19 Dec 2018.
First Man has generally received positive reviews.
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