First Man Review: 8 Ups & 2 Downs
A blistering biopic for the ages.
Damien Chazelle's Neil Armstrong biopic First Man is out now in cinemas, and as won't shock anybody, the Ryan Gosling-starring drama is one of the best films of the year so far.
At once a tenaciously directed tribute to man's mission to the Moon and an extremely engaging study of Armstrong himself, the movie also ticks pretty much every box a film needs for Oscar recognition.
Critics have been tripping over themselves to praise the film ever since its Venice Film Festival premiere, and while it might prove a little too slow and lacking in broad melodrama for some audiences, it's filmmaking at an incredibly high level regardless, with wonderful performances in the bargain.
There's still so much of the Oscar race to be fought out, but First Man should certainly be considered a significant threat in most of the major categories, even if it's not quite a card-carrying crowd-pleaser on the level of, say, A Star is Born...