First Man


Based on the authorized biography "First Man: A Life Of Neil A. Armstrong" by James Hansen. NASA historian James R. Hansen got rare direct access to Armstrong, a test pilot-turned-astronaut who was so driven to reach the moon and play the role of American hero that he became known as "the Ice Commander." Armstrong had a family tragedy before Apollo that turned him into this driven astronaut, and he became such a perfect hero that while Buzz Aldrin was announced to be the first man on the moon, NASA reversed its decision because Neil was regarded as more heroic. Armstrong returned from the moon as one of the most famous men on Earth but didn't capitalize on it with a political career or endorsements. He reconnected with his family, shut out the world and became an intensely private man.

This was an incredibly well done movie.  The direction was great.   Everything felt off the charts real and genuine.  Such an amazing amount of detail clearly went into all of this.  The acting was also top notch and the story was clearly interesting.  The movie was definitely on the too long side though and could have been scaled back a bit.  And in all honesty - there were definitely long stretches of the movie where I could see people feeling like it was a bit of a snoozefest but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I would definitely recommend people checking this movie out.  It is a very great movie and will surely be nominated for a ton of awards later this year.