I’m going to level with you, dear readers. I struggled a bit to write this one. This film is getting lots of really positive reviews but to be honest, I just didn’t feel it.
First Man is a biopic based on the life of Neil Armstrong and his journey to being the first man to walk on the moon. And you know what the problem with the movie was for me? I knew he made it to the moon. We all know he made it to the moon. I mean, I barely paid attention in history class or geography class or science class or frankly any class where this could conceivably been taught and even I know he made it to the moon. “One giant leap for mankind” and all that… yep, got it. So ultimately there was just no tension, no ‘will he or won’t he’ edge of your seat moments. I’ll admit it - I got a bit bored.*
Ryan Gosling is Armstrong and assuming Armstrong was genuinely a pretty understated guy (how would I know, I’m flat out trying to remember what school subject they teach you about the moon in!) Gosling does it well. Claire Foy who many will recognise from her break-out role as the Queen in the Netflix TV series The Crown, is also very good. She portrayed the impact of having a moon-landing husband very well; I can honestly say I hadn’t thought much about the lives of the families left behind, often through failed missions. Corey Stoll plays Buzz Aldrin and I dare say his family are pretty unhappy - he’s portrayed as an annoying goose!
The friend I saw First Man with felt the same about it as me but as I mentioned, the reviews are generally pretty positive so maybe it’s just us. It goes for 2 hours and 20 minutes so that definitely didn’t help.
We both gave it 2.5/5 when 4 star reviews are common including this one in The Guardian.
First Man opens on 11 October. If you see it, let me know what you reckon. Trailer here.
*Is it possible for a film based on a true story where you know what’s going to happen to build tension? I asked this on the socials and people suggested films like Sully, Dunkirk, 127 Hours, The Impossible, Spotlight, Titanic, The Sapphires, King of Kong and Argo as having done so. So yes, it’s clearly possible.