Moonshot

Plot synopsis:
"On July 20, 1969, three men made history as the men on a mission to land on the moon. The eight-day journey aboard Apollo 11 was one of the most watched events ever. This film tells what it was like to be at the heart of the mission that changed the world. I know, my name is Buzz Aldrin. I was there."
THE MOON was once a source of bizarre science-fiction and fantasy stories because it was such an unexplored mystery.
All that changed on July 20, 1969. History was made as the first men landed and walked on the moon.
The Apollo 11 mission was one of the most watched events ever and the amazing story is recreated in the docu-drama Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11, on ITV at 10.50pm on Monday, exactly 40 years after the landing.Starring Daniel Lapaine (Hotel Babylon, Muriel's Wedding) as Neil Armstrong, James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Smallville) as Buzz Aldrin (pictured) and Andrew Lincoln (Afterlife, Teachers) as Michael Collins, this drama documentary weaves the story of the men who undertook the mission with HD Nasa footage of Apollo 11 to bring together a unique testimony of this historic event.
Written by Tony Basgallop (Hotel Babylon) and directed by Richard Dale, (Diana: The Last Days of a Princess, 9/11: The Twin Towers), Moonshot is the story of the moment that united 600 million people around the world.
Dramatising key moments and events in the years spent preparing for their mission, the film builds a picture of the astronauts' lives on the ground and how they shaped what happened in space and on the moon.
In 1961 President Kennedy told the world that that the United States would land on the moon by the end of the decade. This began the series of Apollo missions that would culminate with Apollo 11 - the first moon landing.
Moonshot follows the astronauts as they go through NASA's intense selection procedures and reveals the arduous Apollo training process that has such an impact on their families and friendships.In 1967, the dangers of the mission were brought home when three astronauts were killed by a fire on the first Apollo spacecraft, affecting everyone in the close knit space community.
Then, in 1968, Apollo 8 was the first manned flight to orbit the moon and the mission was a big media event.
The nation crowded around their television sets to watch, prompting a concerned Buzz to tells Neil Armstrong: "My face doesn't fit on the screen, like some of the other guys. Too big, too long."
Neil also has his concerns about the media and he tells Buzz: "If they want to talk about the technical aspects then sure, I'm happy to answer but for some reason they just want to know how everything feels."
Buzz replies: "Even if you could tell them they wouldn't get it. Because when you're up there in space looking down there's nothing wrong with the world, but when you're down here looking up, everything's different."
The film captures the deliberations involved in selecting the crew. In one scene, the NASA official leading the process tells Neil Armstrong that Buzz Aldrin has a reputation for speaking his mind.
He gives Neil a choice between Aldrin and fellow astronaut Jim Lovell, forcing him to think about who he would be able to work with - and who he could trust with his life. Armstrong chooses Aldrin, but which of them would take the first steps on the moon would be decided by NASA. [D-Man2010]The fact that this docudrama on the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 is a British/German/ French/American co-production and scripted by a Hotel Babylon writer might lead you to dread a mushy mess, but it turns out to be solid, worthy and well put together. It interleaves news footage with dramatised scenes that imagine what it was like behind the scenes at Nasa and among the astronauts' wives. James Marsters (Spike in Buffy) plays Buzz Aldrin as a restless, shoot-from-the-hip type; Daniel Lapaine is excellent as unflappable Neil Armstong; and Andrew Lincoln makes up the numbers as Michael Collins, the module pilot who never got to walk on the Moon. Instead of focusing on the engineering feat, the film dwells on tensions between Aldrin and Armstrong and their awe at being in space. It's impressively done, but bathed in the kind of rich, orchestral music that sounds stirring and self-important. Plus why is Anna Maxwell Martin wasted in a non-role as Armstrong's wife? [D-Man2010]

Tags: historical

Review:
Apollo 11 Retold.
With the fortieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing upon us it is no surprise that there would be a dramatization of that historic flight to accompany the anniversary.
That film would be Moonshot, which is at least the third dramatization of the Apollo 11 Moon landing (the first two being the 1996 TV movie Apol1o 11 and the episode from the 1998 miniseries From The Earth To The Moon entitled "Mare Tranquilitatis").
While it covers much of the same ground Moonshot proves to be just as interesting and watchable as either of those efforts even with some drawbacks.The acting of the film is fine stuff.
The three astronauts were especially well cast with Daniel Lapaine as Neil Armstrong, James Marsters as Buzz Aldrin and Andrew Lincoln as Michael Collins.
Lapaine in particular excels in the role of Armstrong and wonderfully captures the man who would go down in the history books as the first man on the Moon.
They are supported by a fairly good supporting cast especially from the actresses playing their wives.
Moonshot has some rather nice performances that are convincing without being potentially cliché or overly serious.The film is also blessed with a nice script by writer Tony Basgallop.
Despite dealing with a familiar story, Basgallop manages to bring in some new details into the story which shed a new light on events (such as the UFO sighting by the crew on the way to the Moon).
Basgallop's script takes the viewer through the back story without taking too long or being underwhelming in building up the journey's of these three men before the flight itself.
Basgallop also handles dialog well for the most part thought here are a few moments where the film delves a little too heavily into clichés such as argument between Armstrong and Aldrin after a simulator test goes wrong (a better handled version can be seen in From The Earth To The Moon's "Mare Tranquilitatis").
The script, despite some occasional dialog issues, is a nice one and serves as a nice basis for the film.Where the film has the biggest drawbacks is in its production values.
Depsite some well designed spacecraft interiors which could rival those used in Ron Howard's feature film Apollo 13 let alone the aforementioned previous film tellings of Apollo 11, the earthbound sets reflect the film's rather low budget.
The sets of the NASA offices are bare and look as those that are thrown together rather quickly with little thoughts for personal touches that should be there such as pictures on the walls for example.
In particular there is a set for one of the press conferences that is simply the astronauts sitting in front of a bare wall with an American flag hung behind them.
The result is a dull looking set to be honest.
There's also the astronauts suits which lack patches and sorted items that should be on the suits which hint at getting things right in broad strokes but not inn finer details.
The film's single biggest drawback is an over reliance on archival materials.
Once the Saturn V launches, everything not taking place relating to the astronauts is archival footage.
all the mission control sequences are told from archival footage so there's not real characters from mission control as a consequence.
Even during the landing and moonwalk the reliance on archival material continues to the point where the actors even end up lip-syncing to some of the original audio material.
All that seems a shame especially in light of the film's rather nicely CGI work.
Sadly these faults can be rather distracting at times from the fine acting and nice script which is a shame.Despite the drawbacks of a low budget and an over reliance on archival material, Moonshot still makes for some interesting viewing.
With some fine performances especially from the actors playing the three astronauts and a nice script by Tony Basgallop, the familiar story of Apollo 11 gets a nice retelling here.
While it may be lacking in style in terms of production values (espeically in comparison with "Mare Tranquilitatis") it certainly isn't lacking in substance and that's what counts..
The human side of the moon.
Everyone knows the basic story, and when there is an anniversary there is a glut of documentaries.
This dramatized version is different, in that it focuses mainly on the human relationships.
It makes Buzz Aldrin into an ambitious and slightly abrasive character who would quarrel with Neil Armstrong, if only the the latter were not so easy-going (not to say bland).
Well, that's how it's played here.
I don't know how true it is.It's entertaining and well acted.
Daniel Lapaine has a good (moon) shot at Neil Armstrong - not an easy thing to do.I'd only really criticize the structure of the film.
It is packed with flashbacks, so much so that it's quite confusing at times..
Only a seven-star production, but I'm giving it ten.
This was an OK production of the now-familiar story of the first manned landing on the moon.
There are better versions, but this one was pretty good, I'd say about seven stars out of ten.HOWEVER, I'm giving it a ten-star rating simply to counter the 3-star rating given by a dumbass who didn't know what the hell he was talking about.
David Byrne got all bent out of shape about what he perceived as lazy and uninformed set design: "The final straw was when about half way thought the film, green 7-segment LED digital displays were in view.
"Sorry to burst your indignant bubble Davie, but the Apollo DSKY (Display Keyboard) computer interface used aboard the Apollo Command Module did indeed have a green LED numerical readout, as even a cursory look on Google would reveal.
No, LEDs were not in wide use in 1969, but you can chalk that up as yet another piece of cutting-edge technology developed or first used by the U.S. space program..
Too many faults and boring.
This film was OK, but it was destroyed with mistakes like a whooshing sound in once scene as command module and lunar module went past near the moon.
It might appeal to those who know nothing about science, but to the majority of educated viewers, it is an insult to their intelligence.
The final straw was when about half way thought the film, green 7-segment LED digital displays were in view.
They were not even invented in 1969 and thus were not used in Apollo 11.
They were not even invented in 1969 and thus were not used in Apollo 11.
I had to switch it off at that point - I had enough.
I had to switch it off at that point - I had enough.
The acting was reasonable, but on the whole I found this film boring.
At least in The Dish movie (which was quite fictional), they used authentic equipment used in 1969.
Producers should do their homework before embarking on a topic they know little of nothing about.For the purists out there, don't bother with this film.
Nothing beats the telecasts during moon landing in July 1969..
Very watchable low budget version.
In 2019 comparisons will inevitably be drawn between this film and First Man. If this film was made with the budget of First Man it would be a winner.
It was more watchable than First Man. Armstrong's character is far more rounded than the morose and withdrawn character in the other film.
You can believe in him much more here, and that connects you and draws you into the film.
There is a fair amount of stock Nasa footage used which interestingly they have managed to lipsynch to the Nasa audio.
This is a much vaunted feature of the upcoming Apollo 11 documentary.
What really lets this film down are the silly mistakes.
If you are not a space buff you probably won't notice, but if you are - prepare to be frustrated!
The floating space pen has already been mentioned in other reviews, but for me the incorrect wristwatches (which got a far amount of screen time) and footwear made me roll my eyes.
The DVD can be picked up very cheaply online and if you're into this stuff it's definitely worth a loo.