Re:Neil Armstrong Remembered
by slg on Tuesday October 23, 2018 @05:15PM
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It seems like Armstrong just isn't that interesting of a movie character. There is nothing wrong with that and isn't meant to take anything away from his accomplishments. No one lives their life with a goal that their biopic will be interesting. It just makes me wonder why this movie needed to exist in the first place. There are plenty of better stories to tell about the space program if you are determined to make a movie about that.
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Re: "It seems like Armstrong just isn't that interesting of a movie character."
He was chosen for the mission in a large part for his lack of emotions: stress didn't seem to phase him when in precarious situations.
Buzz Aldrin was a bit more emotional in comparison, but still a rather mellow person. Buzz was chosen for his MacGyver-like abilities to improvise. He did end up dissecting a ball-point pen to trigger a damaged switch. A fully-inflated space suit ended up bigger than drafted, and they had a hard time getting out of the hatch, brushing up against instrument panels in the process. Good thing they didn't bump the "launch" button :-)
Landing on the moon seems like a pretty interesting story.
I agree, but First Man is not a story about landing on the moon. It is a story about Neil Armstrong. The movie focuses on a piece of the story that is inherently less interesting than the stuff going on in the periphery.
I'm sure there were some interesting office politics and battle-of-wills going on in the general space program during the stress to reach Kennedy's "decade" goal.
Re:Neil Armstrong Remembered
by SmellyGeekBoy on Wednesday October 24, 2018 @04:54AM
(#18290759)
There have been countless movies, TV specials, books and whatnot about men going into space and landing on the moon. It's interesting to finally hear the backstories of who these men really were. "First Man" hadn't really showed up on my radar until today but after reading some of the comments here it's shot straight to the top of my "to watch" list!
I disagree that "Armstrong the human being" is less interesting. It's just differently interesting. I felt the movie gave great insight into the man (acknowledging that his family were consulted), and also into how particular personality types are more suited to certain jobs than you might at think at first glance.
Re:Neil Armstrong Remembered
by quickthrower2 on Tuesday October 23, 2018 @05:38PM
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Didn't he punch someone who said the moon landing was fake? Or is that something I dreamed up?
Re:Neil Armstrong Remembered
by ChristianGeek on Tuesday October 23, 2018 @05:42PM
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It was Buzz Aldrin...you can find it on YouTube. The guy deserved it!
Buzz taking on the Troll Posse, now there's a movie!
Strictly speaking, Aldrin punched the lunatic because he wouldn't stop harassing him in the street, even though multiple people tried to intervene. I can't imagine Aldrin cared too much about the guy's conspiracy theories.
Perhaps in contrast, First Man (the book) relates that Armstrong hid in a college bathroom when some autograph seekers came by the college where he taught.
Re:Neil Armstrong Remembered
by ColinWright on Tuesday October 23, 2018 @05:41PM
(#18287766)
That was Aldrin.