MPAA Rating: PG-13/Genre: Biographical Drama/Stars: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Patrick Fugit, Christopher Abbott, Ciarán Hinds, Olivia Hamilton, Pablo Schreiber, Shea Whigham, Shawn Eric Jones, Lukas Haas, Ethan Embry, Brian d’Arcy James, Cory Michael Smith, Kris Swanberg, Skyler Bible, Gavin Warren, Leon Bridges/Runtime: 141 minutes

I think it’s safe to say dear reader that if I had the opportunity to pick any career, there is definitely one I would not want by any stretch of the imagination. That being as one of the earliest astronauts for the American space agency NASA. Oh sure, should your mission be successful, you got ticker-tape parades, celebrity status, nationwide adoration, a chance to meet the President, women buying you drinks, kids wanting to take their picture with you, endless questions hurled your way about what it is like up there, and your name becoming a part of the most exclusive VIP list this side of a ritzy Vegas pool party. At the same time though, the key word to getting all of that is successful. That’s because at the time success was even less of a possibility than it is for the astronauts of today. What was more likely was either the chance that at worst you would die a most horrible death in some way or at best gaining a serious, potentially lifelong, migraine among other massive bruises due to being bounced around in the ugliest looking Erlenmeyer flask-shaped tin can you ever laid eyes on. As you can see it is that latter group of possibilities that definitely has me more than a smidge thankful I not only wasn’t around in 1960, but also that I have both of my feet firmly planted on the ground as I choose to write this review. Yet for every unashamed to admit scaredy cat like myself out there in existence, there will always be at least one person who hears the call to do what no one has done before and manages to answer the call in quite the spectacular fashion. In fact, in the 1960s there was one such man named Neil Armstrong who not only answered the call, but in so doing entered the history books and will *hopefully* be remembered now and always even if he himself was a very private individual. Yet whilst the history of outer space exploration has been shown to us on a grand scale in such masterpiece films as Apollo 13, The Right Stuff, and 1979’s Capricorn One (I kid on the last one) it is also worth noting that we hadn’t really gotten a movie on the subject from Neil’s point of view. Fortunately, in the year 2018, director Damien Chazelle and actor Ryan Gosling decided to change that. As a result, we got a slice of cinema known as First Man and, despite my initial worries, I am happy to say this slice of cinema is one that is just as out of this world as its subject matter. Yes there are a few issues here and there, but with the aid of top-flight work both behind and in front of the camera, this is one movie that not only showcases the early days of the American space program like never before, but also presents us with an intriguing internal analysis of one of the men who came to be seen as a definitive part of that program as well thus giving us a whole new take on one of the most iconic individuals of the past 6 decades worth of American history.

The plot is as follows: An adaptation of a 2005 book of the same name by James R. Hansen, First Man gets its riveting yarn underway in the long-ago year of 1961 as we join a test pilot by the name of (get this) Neil Armstrong as he in the midst of piloting a test jet known as the X-15. A flight that quickly goes awry when the place begins to bounce off the atmosphere and culminates in our intrepid hero making a rough yet successful landing in the Mojave Desert. Despite the successful landing however, we soon see that Armstrong begins to suspect that he is about to have his wings taken away from him. Yet despite that fear coming to fruition in the form of our boy wonder being grounded, and a tragedy hitting awfully close to home soon thereafter, we see that life has a back-up plan waiting in the wings (pun intended) for Mr. Armstrong. A plan that starts to take shape when we see that he is scooped up by a high-ranking official named Deke Slayton for a little-known organization called NASA to be a part of what was then known as Project Gemini. A project that was designed by the United States to really start competing with the Soviets in the race to get a person into outer space first. A race that, at this time, wasn’t exactly going America’s way for what it’s worth. At any rate, we soon see Armstrong, with family comprised of wife Jan and son Rick in tow, makes the move to Houston alongside the other astronauts and their families among them a test pilot named Elliot See and a more affable to say nothing of outgoing engineer/Air Force office named Ed White who quickly befriend our very shy and stoic hero despite also being, to an extent, his closest competition to not only being a part of, but also commandeering a mission as well. Yet as time starts to creep by complete with numerous advancements, more and more missions that push the limits of what is possible, turmoil, grave errors, and heartbreaking loss in equal measure, it isn’t long before our hero starts to wonder if he will either get his chance to enter the history books for having done what no man before him has ever done before or if it’s only a matter of time before he too winds up like so many of his comrades tragically have due to something going horribly wrong. As for what ultimately becomes of our hero that is something that I think I shall leave for you to discover for yourself dear reader…..

So right off the ol’ lunar module, it should be noted that the work done behind the camera on this film is nothing short of pure majesty. This starts with the fact that this slice of cinema, due in large part to being the first slice of cinema its helmer has not also been the scribe on, quite often gives off the vibe of being significantly more withdrawn than you might think a film from the guy who gave us such gems as Whiplash and the infamous La La Land would be. Yet despite being void of the first film’s swagger or the second film’s sense of fancy, we also see that this helps the film rather than detract from it. This is because by being void of those elements, this enables this film to not only give off the vibes of majestic and long-lasting, but it also provides wonderful evidence to the claim that its helmer definitely has a future ahead of him in this industry. Indeed through top-notch efforts from almost everyone behind the camera, this is easily one of Chazelle’s finest efforts as the captain for a cinematic spacecraft and he does a grand job of ensuring that the craft is able to land where it is supposed to with only a few dings here and there. With that in mind, the main guy behind the camera that undeniably has the right stuff here would have to be Director of Photography Linus Sandgren. Indeed not only does he do a fantastic job of shooting in at least three different types of film, but we also see that his work does a grand job at providing another degree of vintage realism to the fanatically detailed and incredibly on point in terms of time period production design work on display here right down to shots from inside the spacecraft themselves that feel less like ones seen in a movie made in 2018 and more like ones shot in the actual era, preserved, rediscovered, and are now being showcased to the public for the very first time. Yet the wonderful work on display here manages to extend past being merely beautiful images and nothing else. For starters, we see that the work done by the editing department does a terrific job at ensuring that this movie’s tempo is very much right where it is meant to be at all times. Besides that though, we see that whilst this slice of cinema also provides us with more than its fair share of edge of the seat-style moments including the opening of the film, a key component to why these moments work as well as they do is because of the phenomenal work done by the sound design department at making every rattle or blaring alarm system seem that much more perilous than we already know it is. Finally, we see that weaving its way through the entirety of the film is another beautiful musical accompaniment from gifted composer Justin Hurwitz. Indeed, if there really is any issue with the work being done behind the camera it would have to be in terms of the narrative we are being told. Not because it’s boring by any stretch. Rather, it’s because by operating with a resolution that 99% of the population know by heart already not only does it rob this film of any genuine suspense in that regard, but you should be able to figure out what’s going to happen and when at darn near any point in this story. Even with that flaw in mind though, there is no denying that the work from behind the camera is genuinely out of this world.

Of course, the other component that helps this slice of cinema soar to the level that it is ultimately able to achieve would have to be the potent work done by the collection of truly incredible talent assembled in front of the camera. This starts, of course, with Ryan Gosling in the lead role of Neil Armstrong and honestly he is fantastic. Indeed Gosling has always been an actor who has tried to grow in some way with each role that he takes on and here he does an amazing job at playing this American icon less as a bonafide outgoing hero and more as a quiet and stoic whiz kid who very much is more comfortable on his own and in the skies than in interacting with other people down here on Earth with particular regard to his wife and kids. A facet that this movie makes heartbreakingly clear as we see in one particular scene where, after being all but forced to tell his kids where he’s going by his wife, we see Armstrong talk to them about it with the same degree of aloofness that he gives off whenever he has to talk to people in the press. Suffice it to say it is quite the potent performance and one that further provides proof of Gosling’s impressive range as an actor. As good as Gosling is as Armstrong however, he is matched beautifully beat for beat by actress Claire Foy in the role of Neil’s wife Jan. Indeed Foy does a truly impressive job at bringing to life this woman who finds herself continuously torn between being brave and strong for her and Neil’s kids whilst also being consistently stricken with an internal panic that the man she loves, like a lot of his colleagues, will one day see his luck run out and he won’t come back home to her or their kids. A panic that eventually boils over into righteous anger in one of the film’s more emotionally potent moments when, following a character cutting off her ability to listen to the radio feed for a mission her husband’s on when something goes wrong, she proceeds to give them one of the most charged verbal attacks I have seen in a film like this in some time. Indeed it is an incredible performance and one that I hope leads the actress behind it to bigger and better things in the future. Suffice it to say that when you also factor in winning performances from such talents as Jason Clarke who is absolutely albeit also heartbreakingly brilliant as Ed White, Patrick Fugit, Corey Stoll as a rather…distinct for lack of a better word take on the also iconic Buzz Aldrin, Kyle Chandler, Cory Michael Smith, Brian d’Arcy James playing a VASTLY different role than the one he did in the last movie I reviewed that he was in, Pablo Schreiber who it took at least 2 viewings before I realized he was playing Tom Hanks’ character from Apollo 13, the always enjoyable Shea Whigham, Ethan Embry, Lukas Haas, and the always engaging whenever he pops up in something character actor Ciarán Hinds among others it’s clear that the cast of this not only knew what was being asked of them, but they all manage to bring their very best and then some even if a lot of them are sadly shortchanged more so by the script and less so by the quality of the performance that they are giving.

All in all I think it can safely be said that not since either the outcome of the actual Apollo 11 mission all the way back in the long ago year of 1969, whether or not iconic filmmaker Stanley Kubrick filmed it being beside the point to say nothing of entirely up to your own interpretation, 1995’s iconic Apollo 13, or even 1983’s The Right Stuff have we as movie goers been able to witness a story about the primary era of space exploration in the United States that has left us both on the edge of our seats as well in a state of awe fairly consistently throughout as we have gotten here. To be sure, the narrative is more than just a tad bit predictable (especially in regard to its resolution) and a lot of the cast of players aren’t given as much in terms of characterization as they ought to due in no small part to their respective places in the history books. Having said that however, it should also be said that it is by no means the easiest task in the world to take a story that everyone knows and make it actually feel both timely and important again. It is when looking at this slice of cinema through that distinct prism that helmer Damien Chazelle and his immensely talented cast and crew must be immensely praised for what they have managed to accomplish here. Suffice it to say then that the slice of cinema that is First Man is one that not only gives audiences a rousing narrative that works on both an emotional and a technical level. Rather, it also gives us an inside look at the man who took our wildest dreams, flew up into the sky with them, and came back a bonafide star. One that as long as humanity looks to the cosmos and thinks about what is truly out there will remain a shining example now and forever more. Not just as a terrific human being, but also as an exemplary personification of the drive by humanity to always go one step further than we did the day before and plant a flag where before there was none. Make of that what thou will dear reader. On a scale of 1-5 I give First Man “2018” a solid 4 out of 5.