Movie Review: First Man

Rating: 8/10 (6 April 2019)

Damien Chazelle has officially cemented himself as one of the greatest filmmakers working today and just like his last two masterworks First Man is guaranteed some Oscar buzz.
I personally wouldn't hold First Man to quite the same pedigree as Whiplash and La La Land but it is certainly a great film. Neil Armstrong's life makes for a very interesting story and Ryan Gosling plays him perfectly. Gosling's performance has lead to one of the films biggest criticisms and have to say I am inclined to agree with the majority of critics on this one, while I do think that Gosling's stoic and closed off performance if perfect for the character it does at points make it hard to connect with the film as the protagonist never fully revels their emotions in a meaningful way.
The first two acts as a result of Armstrong's stoicism can tend to drag at points. I give the film credit for committing to showcasing the real Armstrong instead of over-dramatising this very real person however it really does make it difficult to stay engaged with a handful of the more character driven moments.
The final act is absolutely incredible! Seeing this film in IMAX has officially been added to my bucket list. Chazelle knows how to make a shot feel remarkable and he manages to make it feel like you are really standing on and looking around the moon with the end of this film. I am curious as to whether or not the sequence on the moon is completely accurate, either way it is incredibly moving and helps to put the rest of the film in context. Having seen the end of this film the first two acts feel less of an issue and even become recontextualised to a extent.
First Man is a really great biopic telling a really great story. It's a solid base hit showing that Chazelle will be around for a long time to come.