“First Man” (2018)—Neil Armstrong story - from “La La Land” director

To me the box office numbers are very simple. Baby boomers don’t go to as many movies as the kids and this is baby boomer material, not kid material. I love Tom Hanks And other producers like him who are dedicated to portraying history on screen,but how many young people are really in tune to the 60s these days? They’re trying to cash in on the whole Elon musk rebirth of the space program vibe but old news is just old news to kids. I am a Boomer and I feel the same way about Amelia Earhart or Seabiscuit. Just not my gen And very little interest in films prior to my own personal history.

 

Finally saw this yesterday, and I can agree with some of the criticisms. But it seems like the screenwriter was in a no-win situation, making a film about someone so taciturn (both of his parents were auditors.)

I would have been happier if the film had been about just Apollo 11, and given equal time to all three astronauts, which would have counterbalanced Armstrong with Collins, who was fascinating. While Neil and Buzz were on the moon, Michael became the loneliest man in the universe, and faced a very real possibility of having to make the return trip alone.

Perhaps the writers are waiting for Buzz to kick it, worried that if they get his story wrong, he'll sock them in the jaw.

 

BINGO! this man wins!

Yeah that stuff would have been just a few months off a clean room production line.

Instead it looked like the Gemini craft had done 5 years worth of missions.

 

I enjoyed this film immensely. Gosling's portrayal seemed in line with everything I have ever seen or read about Armstrong. And the dynamic between he and buys was a real hoot.

Those moon scenes sure were pretty.

The other stuff Neil did on the moon was of a far more personal nature to him than sticking the US flag in the ground, so I was fine with this one omission and understood its absence in the film completely.

 

That bugged me as well, although when they were were getting ready to take off the LEM would have been filthy, as the moon dust got everywhere.

 

I saw this today and really enjoyed it. I could empathize with Armstrong - I did not see him in this film as an ice cube, but as someone who felt great pain but had trouble expressing and sharing emotion. I don’t really care if that is fact, but that is how Gosling’s portrayal of the character came across to me, and for me, it worked.

I loved the sights and the sounds! of the the rockets. But then I was a space program geek in the late 60’s (as a child under the age of 10!), so perhaps I am the target audience. I thought Gosling was very good, Claire Foy was even better, and I like Kyle Chandler in every role I see him play.

 

I just returned from seeing this & I wish I had chosen a different movie. I am an admitted space junkie, so I had to go nonetheless.

I agree with the condition of the Gemini capsule. You could see rust around the nuts where the switches mount to the panels. No new machine would have exhibited that kind of deterioration regardless of training use prior to launch.
The Saturn V launch was well done, but the rest of the mission seemed rushed. The 1202 program alarm was solved within seconds & it seemed that the LEM was already on the surface when the contact light was mentioned.
There was no return to earth or much of any heroes welcome for the crew.
I left the theater pretty deflated overall.

One point I noticed during the Gemini portion was a shot of a Columbia stereo 8-track player outside. Not sure if those existed quite yet & perhaps a couple years premature.

I won't recommend this movie to anyone. Gagarin was a far better movie even with the subtitles. I think I'll dig out the From The Earth To The Moon DVD's & watch that series again & forget about this movie.

 

A cold but good movie. Don't know if wanna see it again though. An accomplish like the Apollo missions deserves more grandeur and positive vibes, instead we got to many close ups and bleak moments. The filmmakers could have mixed it up a little.

 

I was wondering if perhaps the film makers visited some Gemini and Apollo hardware in museums and based the look of the spacecraft on their current condition. Having said that, I have been fortunate to view the insides of several Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo capsules and don't ever recall them looking so dirty... even 40-50 years after they flew. The only exception might be the Liberty Bell 7 capsule, which spent nearly 40 years at the bottom of the ocean.

They did seem to call out the "contact light" line a bit late in the film. They saw the light while they were still a few feet above the lunar surface, as a probe that hangs from the footpad of the LEM makes first contact with the surface.

From The Earth To The Moon is a better overall look at the space program and more entertaining (yet still very factual in its presentation). The trouble with First Man was finding a story that could be told with sufficient drama, yet also finding an appropriate exit point. Armstrong's life after Apollo 11 wasn't all that interesting (for the purposes of making a film), so I can see why they ended it where they did. But they set a very heavy and somber tone, one which kind of bogs down any celebration of the Apollo 11 landing.

Also, for the key scene on the moon, nobody really knows if Armstrong brought along anything of his daughter's and, if so, if he dropped anything in the crater. He did spent a little time during the EVA near a crater, and was temporarily out of contact with mission control. But nobody really knows what he did there. Armstrong only mentioned that he thought the crater was worth taking a look into (and photographing) while they were on the surface, and left it at that.

 

Like A Star is Born, I let the movie do its job and didn't get caught up in the technical nitpicking. I guess if that's the stuff you are looking for, you aren't really engaged with the story (or you're just a super tech nut who actually knows what you're talking about - I'm not here to figure out who's who on these boards, really). And I can see that many people might not engage with a movie like this.

I felt it succeeded in turning a scientific achievement into a drama through two people's eyes. Thought the leads were really convincing. I love Space, Science, and the drama of human ambition to do what hasn't been done. The Aldrin/Armstrong balance of personalities on the moon fascinated me as it happened.

Every aspect of the film served the story well and maintained my involvement in the main drama of Will It Work? That question applies to the space program and to the idea of having a normal family life while participating in the Extraordinary (and extraordinarily dangerous).

For me, this is the first real Science Drama I've ever seen. Not Science Fiction. Factual Science - as dramatic material - is the center point while the people who are trained, who can be trained to do something so incredibly difficult basically ride along with their very human stories. I feel like any space opera fan who can't get into a movie like this is just a fantasy fan.

 

Spot on commentary about our approach to space drama appreciation as a culture and why I liked this film so much as I watched it. I haven't lost the interest in Space for what it actually is. Once again, I'm in the minority.

‘First Man’ Blues: How 40 Years of ‘Star Wars’ Killed the Mystery of the Moon Shot

 

It’s a reasonable reflection. Couldn’t have been more than 2 dozen in our theater, day after opening.

 

Bad movies are too long, good movies aren't long enough. - Roger Ebert

 

Saw this yesterday. Boring. This film starts on the mat and never gets up off the mat. How could subject matter so tantalizing be kept at such a flatline; that takes talent. This had to be intentional, to suck all the life out of a great event. Sure it was life or death, things needed to be serious, but I've seen documentaries with more entertainment value. I've heard Neil Armstrong was the silent introvert, but come on, give us a few more grins or something … take a few liberties.

As soon as I walked into the theater I knew something was wrong, the multiplex theater had already put this film in their smallest theater available, the five row theater, two up, three on the floor. From IMAX to the basement in one week, that has to be a record.

 

Exactly!

 

That's a crying shame, and it sounds like it's killed any possibility of making a more audience pleasing version of the story of Apollo 11, one that would give equal time to all three men in the capsule. I do have the From The Earth To The Moon set, but it's been years since I watched them, and I absolutely love Apollo 13.

 

I done had beers, and I ain't gettin' in no arguments, but when

Spoiler

Armstrong cracks the sky at the opening of the film, I was already in love with the movie. If you didn't hang on to the whole thing from that moment on, then you saw a different movie from the one I experienced.

If you have never used Space Engine, then you should figure out the installation procedure and download EVERYTHING from their site and fire it up on a really nice screen and try to use the arrows to freely navigate from the moon to the earth at a flight speed even 10X as fast as those guys flew. You will be amazed at how far the moon is from us. And IT'S ONLY THE MOON. Interstellar travel. lol. I'm totally into Multiverse outcomes of string theory and even I can appreciate it's theoretical fantasy until it's proven.

Getting to the moon was unreal. These people did it. There's a reason it hasn't been done since Apollo and it ain't about no conspiracy theories. The message is clear: SCIENCE CAN SAVE THE EARTH WITH SOME REALLY PHENOMENAL EFFORT AND FAITH IN OUR ABILITY TO WORK TOGETHER EVEN IF WE DON'T AGREE.

"I think I'll send these doctor bills,
Airmail special
(to Whitey on the moon)"

- GSH

 

And did it with slide rules and a computer with less power than most pocket calculators.

 

Just watched it at a 5 PM screening. The big theater room was crowded and everyone remained silent throughout the film. I liked it, an interesting story that added the human aspect of the astronauts' lives.

 

Prediction: 'First Man' purposely omitted the iconic planting of the American flag. Thus, it will kill at the Oscars. Which no one will watch.

 

I've seen it and loved it twice. I was 9 when it happened, so I remember it as it actually happened. This time, no musical

 

I think that if the idea of going to the f*%$ing moon isn't thrilling enough for somebody, no amount of added interpersonal "film-worthy" drama will cut it

 

To echo your post ... I would suggest the younger demographic that the movie business is oriented to and depends upon simply isn't that interested in a historic or fact based space story (or even interested in present day real life space exploration, such as the Mars rover, the ISS, private rocket companies, etc. despite all the social media PR/ controversy Elon Musk generates). I have the impression that the vast majority of people under the age of 50 could care less about the Apollo missions and Neil Armstrong. I'm surprised the film got made at all.

 

I was manager of a large downtown Milwaukee record store when this took place, with several "hippie" types
as employees. I always remember the day after the landing when one of my employees came in to work,
I said to him how amazing it was that we went to the moon. His response..."You mean someone went to
the moon?" No clue. Typical back then of those that only lived in their own little world with no TV, newspapers
or radio.​

 

Yes, but Apollo 13 managed to make not going to the Moon incredibly compelling.

I really don't get the love for this director. La La Land was a musical with no magic, Whiplash was an offensive slander against music education, and First Man somehow made mankind's most significant achievement kind of boring.