First Man Review: 8 Ups & 2 Downs

1. The Excellent Sound Design

And finally, it'd be remiss not to mention First Man's absolutely spectacular sound design, which has been a first-rate aspect of all three of Chazelle's Hollywood movies.

Though not as music-centric as either Whiplash or La La Land, the film places a great emphasis on the most subtle and minute sounds during the space sequences.

The sound of metal casually straining produces an enormous amount of tension, and adds tremendously to the already palpable feeling that we're locked inside the cockpit with Armstrong and co.

There's no way the movie isn't nominated for Sound Mixing and Sound Editing Oscars next year - it's a space movie, after all - with Chazelle smartly retaining most of his sound team from La La Land.

If it wins either or both Oscars, it'll certainly be well-earned, because the diversity of the effects and how they're all tied together, especially during the climactic Moon landing scene, is nothing short of exemplary.

What did you think of First Man? Shout it out in the comments!