I am still waiting for this movie to leave orbit.

Rating: 6/10 (14 October 2018)

Straight off the bat, it IS a good movie. It just left me wanting more, so much more.
The movie begins with a bang! You are thrown into the exciting and risky life of a test pilot, Neil Armstrong. It seems that the director had a very specific goal in mind. Make the audience feel as if they are riding alongside Armstrong and can sense the anxiety and stress in some of these situations. They did a great job helping you feel the adventure. The unfortunate problem with this; it never stops. The entire movie is made with a shakey camera to add to the thrill, and on top of that they film everything up close to the object and person.
Between the shakey camera and up close shots, you will find yourself trying to figure out what is happening in the shot. Again, on top of this, you find yourself in the seat along with the astronauts in almost all the exciting shots. This means that you will only enjoy space and the scenery through the tiny windows on board the Apollo and other conveyances.
The movie was well done. Great acting, great script, some amazing scenes, and decent storyline. For how HUGE this real life story is and all the amazing scenes that could have come from it, I feel it fell short of my expectations. The entire time the director wants us to feel the intensity inside the shuttle. This is great for some of the time, but while this is all happening, you are missing something wonderful. You are missing SPACE. This is the most amazing, beautiful, grand, mysterious place (or void) that we could ever discover. Yet, you will find yourself never truly getting to experience the joys and grandiosity of Armstrong's experiences, only the stressful moments.
There were multiple shuttle launches during this movie and you will only see part of one. The one I am referring to is great, but it still cuts in and out of shots so quickly, you will find yourself lost. Or like me, you may find yourself wondering if they did up close and shakey shots because its cheaper than doing a realistic CGI launch. By the end of the movie I felt like I have somehow missed out on space exploration, which is literally the point of the movie. The movie should have been called Neil Armstrong, it was far more about the person (which is fine) than it was about landing on the moon or being in space.
It is still worth a watch, easily. Just don't compare it to movies such as, " Gravity" or "Interstellar" which both do an AMAZING job explaining space and allowing you a way to slightly understand the insanely mysterious and deep vacuum that is space. After "First Man," you will want to go home and search shuttle launches on youtube to fulfill an unsettled desire. Like going on a Grand Canyon tour, but you are only able to see it from within the canyon in a bus with a couple inch wide window and its hitting every bump in the trail and you are never allowed out.
"First Man" launched with spectacular glory towards the stars with you along for this intense ride of a lifetime. Then it got stuck in orbit and never reached what I know of which it was capable."