October 14th, 2018
FIRST MAN - REVIEW
Rated PG-13: For Some Thematic Content involving Peril, and Brief Strong Language
Stars: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Pablo Schreiber, and Kyle Chandler
Directed By Damien Chazelle
Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures
First Man is the newest movie from Academy Award winning director Damien Chazelle (Whiplash, La La Land), about the life of the astronaut Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon. When I heard that Damien Chazelle directed this film, I knew that I wanted to see it. After his two very successful movies; Whiplash, and La La Land - almost winning the Academy Award for Best Picture, I knew that First Man was going to be another film from 2018 that I would definitely see. After seeing this movie, I thought it was okay. The performances by Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy are phenomenal. The directing by Damien Chazelle was pretty good; however, I believe he did a much better job directing La La Land and Whiplash. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he did a bad job directing this film. I'm just saying that after seeing how he directed his previous movies, I felt he could have done a better job directing this film. I thought the cinematography was really good especially when it came to one particular scene in the movie. However, this movie is not without opportunities; one of them being - its pace. Sometimes the films pace seems off and the movie can feel boring. Another opportunity I feel it has, is that the film jumps from one particular event to a another in just a few seconds. It's as if he shows one scene where someone is eating with their family and then another scene where years pass and that person is now older. Showing the characters progress in this format is fine; however, Chazelle makes it feel rushed and at times confusing. This is certainly not the best movie I've seen this year, nor is it one of Damien Chazelle's best directed movies either. Overall First Man was an okay film, but I do not see it as being one of Chazelle's most memorable movies. If you're planning on going to see First Man - I definitely recommend seeing it in IMAX. It's worth it!
Grade: B-