First Man Review

First Man is a great biopic despite its extremely slow pacing. This movie is about Neil Armstrong and the legendary space mission that led him to be the first man on the moon. Ryan Gossling gives a fantastic performance. While it may not be what people expect, his quiet subdued performance is very powerful at times. Claire Foy gives a really good performance. The scenes with her were not among my favorites, but she had a few standout moments. Corey Stoll, Kyle Chandler, and Jason Clarke all gave great performances in crucial supporting roles. Damien Chazelle did a fantastic job directing. The space sequences are easily the films best as they are equally tense and breathtaking. The script is very strong, though quite minimalistic. There are many sequences with no dialogue at all. While these more artsy moments will not work for everyone, I found a few of them to be impressive and emotional. The visual effects are amazing. All of the space sequences are visually incredible. The cinematography utilizes shaky camera work to simulate a documentary style film. While that will not work for everyone, I overall liked the choice. At 138 minutes this movie moves at a snail's pace. While I was never bored at all, there are many slow scenes with very little happening. Overall First Man was a great Neil Armstrong biopic, if you do not mind the extremely slow pacing.

8/10