By Renee’ C.
Rating: 4.5 (Out of 5 Reels)
A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong (Ryan Reynolds), and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969 (IMDB).
This film is a stunningly beautiful and intense ride through the life of Neil Armstrong as he traverses obstacles in order to be qualified to command the first flight to the moon in 1969. The National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) is all business when it comes to selecting and training people to go into space, which is undeniably evident in this film. The filmgoer is Neil in this film. Unlike most space films, when the astronauts rocket off into space we see things happen from their perspective instead of from the outside. We see the view from their seat, which means a lot of jarring shots that one would expect when hurdling though space.
This film is extremely well made and acted but is too long. At just shy of two and a half hours there are too many long pauses and removing half an hour would not have affected the overall effect. I realize they are for effect but we get it and I just wanted it to move along a bit more quickly.
Everyone should see this film because knowing the sacrifices made and the hard work it took the United States to get to the moon is an amazing feat looking at the technology and resources we had at the time.