First Man (2018)

I always try and take my family to a historical drama of some kind. We saw “Lincoln”, “42” & “Selma” together, so I thought this would fit the bill. Not so much, I guess. My son was bored out of his mind. I thought “First Man” was extremely well done. Very detailed with a wonderful cast and the production value was top shelf. All the space sequences were terrific and by far, those were the best parts of the film. Everything was done from the astronauts point of view and the sound effect editing and score was a great asset to create tension. That’s the good stuff of “First Man”. I never said I actually enjoyed the movie. This is not a rah rah America kind of film about the space program. I recommend “The Right Stuff” (1983) for that kind of film. This was really a film about Neil Armstrong and unfortunately, he ain’t exactly Mr. Personality. He may be an American hero, but he doesn’t resonate to good drama on the screen. In this movie, he comes across as a sour puss who doesn’t seem to love his wife or his job that much for that matter. There is a tragic back story with his daughter that drives him which may explain a lot of his charm, or lack thereof, but it doesn’t mean I have to spend 140 minutes watching it. This is a good movie. There is no doubt about that. Technically, its terrific. All the space stuff is worth watching, I just wish our hero was more fun to watch.

Rating (***)