Tim Whelan

For many younger people this will be there first exposure to information about the Apollo program. On that basis it is a failure because it provides little history and zero context. After the tragedy of Apollo 1, which is a big deal in this movie, what happened to get the Apollo program back on track? What role did Armstrong play? Leaving out history, what we are left with is not enough for a movie or, as it turns out, very interesting. See “The Right Stuff,” “Apollo 13,” or “From the Earth to the Moon,” My impression of Armstrong is that he was an unremarkable man who found himself at a turning point of history. This film adds little more to that notion except that he was emotionally unavailable. The movie is visually dark - even in the middle of the day. Did these events happen in the sunbelt or the caves of Moria? The camerawork is constantly drawing attention it itself. High school. Several of the action sequences, with Armstrong in a cockpit, are told entirely from his perspective. Nice idea, once. If he is piloting a tumbling spacecraft might it not be a good idea it see the spacecraft tumble? Even by way of contrast? Inside the cockpit noise, vibration, and chaos. From out side the spacecraft spins silently in the black? I do not fault the acting. Blame rests on the script and the director.