Impressive in Scope, but a Little Light on the Drama

Rating: 8/10 (14 October 2018)

When a story is brought to the big screen that practically every audience member already knows, it's hard to make a compelling film out of it. That being said, it's all about the execution and I believe First Man is definitely executed in the perfect way. After Whiplash and La La Land, director Damien Chazelle has been on every film lover's radar. While I personally don't believe this film is in the same league as his first two directorial achievements, it's definitely worth the praise it's been receiving. If you know this story already, you will learn very little from First Man, but if you're up to be swept up in a grand scope, then this one may just knock your socks off.
Following Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) as he deals with family issues and the loss of good friends, this troubled, yet eager young man will do whatever it takes to lend a hand to his employers in NASA. Eventually given the opportunity to pilot the Apollo rocket that plans to land the first humans on the Moon, First Man is all about the build-up and execution. When watching a movie like this, you pretty much know how everything will turn out for most of these characters, so that particular portion of the movie was definitely a downside. That being said, the Moon landing itself is worth the price of admission alone.
The way this crew captures the claustrophobia in the cockpit, down to the overall reveal of the Moon was absolutely breathtaking. I found myself sucked into this movie every time a pilot would fail at a trial run or actually accomplish what they've been setting out to achieve. Although not surprising, this movie is nothing short of fantastic when looking at the minute details of each and every aspect of filmmaking here. You truly feel as if you've followed these characters from their hardships, all the way up until they finally touch the Moon themselves. With that said, I feel the emotional core of this film could've been a little deeper.
Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy deliver stellar performances in their respective roles. In fact, I believe Foy could easily receive nominations at every single one of the awards shows this coming year, but I felt slightly let down in terms of development. This film spans quite a few years and there are many significant plot details that seem to either be given very little screen time or talked about as if it has already happened in the past or is currently happening off-screen, simply because the movie doesn't have time to slow down for them. At a hefty 141 minutes, you'd think these aspects would have time to be explored further, but I never felt the emotional impact that I think director Damien Chazelle had intended.
Overall, this film is riddled with things to love. From the terrific score, superb sound design, very solid performances from nearly everyone on-screen, and a climax that had me gasping for air (mainly due to the fact that this film needs to be seen in IMAX for the full effect), First Man deserves to be talked about as one of the better overall films of 2018. Although it probably won't crack my lists, I had a great time sitting in the theatre with this one. It does run a little long and it may bore some viewers throughout the second act, but I assure you that if you have patience with this one, the finale is more than worth the wait. In the end, I can confidently say, even with my nitpicks, that First Man is a great movie.