On July 20, 2019 we will collectively celebrate the first lunar landing’s 50th anniversary.
A little over a month ago I went to see the documentary Apollo 11 in IMAX, and unlike “First Man” I left this film excited and exhilarated.
Apollo 11 covers the entire mission from 6-8 days prior to launch to the astronauts coming out of medical confinement a couple weeks after splashdown. All of this using original footage of the people and events that made up this historic first landing on the Moon.
You hear it and see it as it’s happened. The sights, the sounds, the gathered spectators, the astronauts on their mission, the journalists, the cigarette puffing, launch technicians in their white shirts, and in fact, the whole world is focused on what’s about to play out.
After watching the Neil Armstrong biopic First Man directed by Damien Chazelle and starring Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong I’m sorry to report that this film has issues. All of the glowing four star critical reviews I had read online about the movie should have been a clue as I rarely align with the critics. That, and the “flag planting” omission controversy that immediately followed the film’s release just seemed to place a dark cloud over the movie. I was able to get past that with ease but after having read the book and seeing Neil interviewed many times I just feel that Ryan Gosling totally missed capturing the nature and personality of the man.
I get what the actor was attempting to do and it was a gallant try but fell short and left me feeling depressed and sorry for Neil and his family. In an effort to show Neil as a man of few words, which he was, the viewer is instead left with a character who is deeply depressed, and hard pressed to show any emotion at all. The attempt was to make him seem strong and focused (which he was) but that is not what I took from the screen. I don’t think it’s a fair assessment or representation of the man. Yes, he was deeply affected by the death of his infant daughter Karen but that over shadows the entire film leaving the viewer’s impression of Neil empty, distant and dry.
Current amateur astronomy information such as points of interest and events in the night sky, star party dates, educational information, telescopes buying tips and much more.
