Spoilers

I remember watching the end of this film as a child, but i have never consciously seen it all the way through, so that is what i am going to do. Its on Netflix, it actually will probably be gone from there by the time i have completed my review of this & i just thought ive got the time so lets do it. Lets GOAT up Mr Hanks shall we.

So lets talk about the star of the film shall we… im not talking Hanks… im talking Ed Harris. OH WOW!!! NOW THATS HOW YOU FUCKING ACT PEOPLE WOWOWOWWOWOOWWOO! Like there were points i forgot Tom Hanks was actually in this film. He just was on fire & he was the real hero of this film. He had to keep the astronauts safe, the families calm, the media ok, & his own people. Its brilliant. Im really hoping he nailed the real Gen Kranz to a T & that was exactly how it happened & not ramped up for theatricality (im sure it was its a film after all) but the fact that i didnt realise this is where the FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION quote comes from until he said it really made me go oh wow. I mean i know its not Huston we have a problem but still.

This isnt taking anything away from Hanks because he is still in charge of that Rocket with Paxton & Bacon & all 3 of them in their life & death situation where they miss the opportunity of a life time do fall out like real friends do (even tho some of them arent friends) but they go through all the stages of grief & blame & acceptance & anger & it really does show everyones range & its brilliant. But if you havent got Hanks in the role im not sure it works.

Why did we have to keep ramping up that the mission was doomed from the start with everything going wrong & being random & awkward, we all know this is a real life story, we all know they arent going to land on the moon. But you know oh its the 13th your going up on a friday, she lost her wedding ring they werent going to the launch. It was too hyped that it wasnt going to work.

I hope they did the coffee thing for the amps they could use to re-entre i really do. What a way to do that & measure how much power they will have to keep them alive & re-entre. Its brilliant so create & fantastic.

When Xander Berkeley turned up i didnt know if i should cheer boo or cry. I am still not over his sacrifice in 24 (spoilers for that i havent cried at a TV like i have that one). But that was nice when he suddenly appeared & tried to be calm & then fail.

I do love me a space film about real life especially ones linked to the moon from the 60s & 70s & the technology they use. You look at it & wonder how they did it then, when now here in 2021 we havent sent a person to the moon in years upon years & that we did it then with the technology of a bag of potatoes. ITs truly inspiring & the fact that they did all of that & we are still using some of those original techniques now show how good they all were.

I like that (actors playing) Lance & Buzz went to go & see his mum & she was all like my boy is an astronaut what do you kids do. That was sweet that was some light relief in a moment of oh god are they coming back & hopefully surviving re-entry. That was nice.

I mean some of the bits when they are in space are a little bit dated now, & i dont think thats intentional either. When you watch first man there are bits that are grainy as theyve chosen to do that, but here its just because its an early 90s film thats not aged well & some of the effects look a little awkward & obvious now.

I mean theres not much else for me to say really we all know Apollo 13 & The mission so it wasnt a surprise when they got back home was it. It didnt ramp up the drama too much. Maybe in the 90s watching it when it came out it was more inspiring than it is (not to say that it still isnt) but when you watch this but i can go on twitter at any point to get a live feed of nasa or the space station now, its not so exciting seeing behind the scenes any more, its just more normalised.

Its a good film & its got some splendid acting but the real heroes are the guys & girls in NASA & on the rocket at that time who got them home in such a heroic style & became legends.