Good, but boring and depressive.

Rating: 5/10 (18 October 2018)

I had really high hopes for First Man since there really hasn't been a good movie this summer since Mission Impossible. There is no argument that the movie is well done but I gave it a 5 for the following reasons:

It was really boring. First Man has a very sullen, lugubrious tone throughout almost the entire film. There are definitely some happy moments but most of these are overshadowed by this overall depressive tone. I am not insensitive to bad things happening in people's lives - the film made me cry at times - but it was way too much and gave me the perception that First Man was more about Neil Armstrong's struggles than it was about the glorious event of going to the moon. Because this negativity is such a predominant theme of the movie it makes for long, drawn out, boring scenes with little dialogue.

This is related to the first point above but Neil Armstrong is portrayed as a disturbed individual whose primary focus is the problems in his life. I'm no expert on Neil Armstrong but the film makes you believe that his character has on overarching preoccupation with his problems even to the point that you wonder how he can function as human being.

Lastly, I hope, plead and pray that film directors someday let go of the fad of bouncing the camera around while filming. I know they do it in the name of art but the vast majority of people greatly dislike it and get a headache while watching. I totally get it that astronauts being launched out of the earth's atmosphere makes for a shaky ride but this movie takes it a little too far and then doesn't stop with the bumpy camera while firmly planted on the earth. Just use Apollo 13 as a reference of what a good film should be.

I will never watch it again and would encourage you to wait until it comes out on Netfilx.
My two cents.