First Man goes deeper into historic moon landing

Ever wonder what would it would be like to go to the moon? Ever think about how difficult it must have been or how much stress was put on the shoulders of those brave astronauts that journeyed into the unknown? Probably not. But now you can experience it all yourself with the out of this world new movie, First Man, that hit theaters Oct. 12th.

Directed by Damien Chazelle, this movie highlights the aspects of the life of Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) that many people never knew about while chasing the footsteps of the process that these men had to undergo before even setting foot in a rocket. During the first part of the movie we learn that Neil has a baby daughter that suffers from cancer. She passes away and this takes a toll on Neil’s life. He constantly has visions of her while he suffers through the pain of trying to erase her from his memory. Shortly after her death, Neil is notified about an ad in the paper about NASA seeking astronauts. He decides to take the step forward and puts in an application. Already having military and pilot experience, he is invited in for an interview and is accepted thereafter.

The training that he and other crew members go through for the next several years is nothing short of amazing mixed in with a little bit of the impossible. Time and time again we are able to see how many times they failed. “We have to fail. We have to fail down here so that we don’t fail up there,” commands Neil. These words resonate with you. Each move that is laid out in the movie makes you love this country a little more and brings back the faith in humanity. His wife, Janet (Claire Foy), has constant fear that Neil may not return. She urges him to give his sons a dose of reality and during that scene, those two boys grow up real quick. They learn that their father may not come back, but he will go down in history.

When finally arriving at their destination, you are able to watch Neil graze himself upon that rocky surface while sputtering those famous words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” It was on this day that we all as people, stood together. It was for mankind. For us all. It makes you proud of how far we have come and much we have left to capture.