The Apollo 11 mission is not just an achievement for NASA and the United States. It’s an achievement for all mankind. After so many years, you’d think that we’ve seen basically every single piece of footage from the Apollo 11 mission. Well, you would be wrong. Apollo 11 gives us some brand new never before seen footage from the mission. But is Apollo 11 a film that gives us a fresh perspective of the mission or is it a few decades too late?
Fortunately, the new footage gives us an in-depth experience of the entire Apollo 11 mission. From the audio recordings to the ship’s windshield camera footage, Apollo 11 is a nice companion piece to last year’s First Man.
Apollo 11 follows Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and mission control during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission.
First and foremost, Apollo 11 is not your typical documentary. Even though a majority of documentaries feature a narrator, Apollo 11 doesn’t. The film uses the real-life audio recordings of the mission in order to tell the story of Apollo 11. There is a slight problem with that, though. There is a droll tone to a majority of the film’s many audio recordings. If you really think about it, it makes sense. Many of the recordings come from scientists and not professional speakers like newscasters.
Also, unlike other documentaries, you don’t learn a ton from watching the film. Be that as it may, you will learn a few things about various parts of the mission. But other than that, there’s not much else. It seems as if the purpose of the film is to have you experience the Apollo 11 mission through all of this unseen footage.
You can say the same thing about the footage of those at mission control too. These are some of the least interesting scenes from the documentary. Basically, all they do is look through papers and just talking. Needless to say, nothing truly exciting happens during these scenes. What truly grabs you is, obviously, Apollo 11.
Thankfully, the film has some phenomenal visuals that are akin to 2001: A Space Odyssey. Thanks to all of the mounted cameras on the windshield of the ship, we get to see all of the moon mission in all of its Kubrickian-style glory. It’s shocking to see how pristine all of the footage looks on the giant IMAX screen. In fact, a lot of the footage doesn’t look blurry or blown up at all. A lot of the footage is crisp and clear.
But like 2001, the film does tend to drag during some scenes. It puts the focus on some key events of the mission. However, if you have a short attention span then these moments may bore you. Yet those who are able to enjoy the film will experience some amazing and tense moments. The editing and visual countdowns add quite a bit of tension to the film, even though it’s widely known what the outcome of the mission is.
Overall, Apollo 11 shows you one the triumphs of mankind’s greatest achievements. A lot of people worked extremely hard to get Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the moon. It immerses you in this era and you’ll feel as if you were really there. However, the film isn’t for everyone. Those with short attention spans may not be able to get through this film. Regardless, the film is a visual masterpiece.
Rating: 4/5 atoms
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