A giant leap for humanity, but not for cinema

Rating: 6/10 (17 November 2018)

We all know the story of "First Man"... 1969 moon landing, Neil Armstrong, yada yada. It's an absolutely impressive story-after all, we flew to the freakin' moon! This is a massive feat of science and human accomplishment that truly needs to be celebrated, and what better way to do so with a stellar cast and a director of Whiplash fame!
The movie starts off with a kick-ass nailbiter of a scene that rivals "Gravity" in its suspense. They totally got the 60's clunky technology vibes right with an amazing sound design and visual effects so good that you never question the time you're in. Also, I like the overall idea of focusing on the human story behind all the politics, especially as Claire Foy's performance as Janet Armstrong was very powerful.
That said, I felt surprisingly unmoved by this pic. What did move me was the human accomplishment depicted by the movie, but not so much the movie itself. It's almost as the movie relies too much on the power of the source material. Story-wise, I felt that the movie hat some pacing issues and felt a little slow in the middle, and the final moon landing felt underwhelming.
I think one big issue is Ryan Gosling's emotional deadpan performance. It doesn't matter whether this does or does not reflect Neil Armstrong's real character: If a movie has a protagonist that is unemotional, then chances are that the audience doesn't feel as much either.
Another big issue I had with the movie was the whole backstory relating to the Armstrong's lost daughter and all that. This aspect of "First Man" reminded me quite a bit of "Arrival", and just as in that movie, this tragic backstory was supposed to somehow motivate or drive Neil Armstrong. However, this whole emotional dimension was mostly lost throughout the rest of the movie... and when it did come back, it felt contrived and somewhat cheesy.
All in all, a good movie with some great camerawork and some excellent acting by Claire Foy... however, in the end, this doesn't give justice to the epic scope of this amazing part of human history.