Apollo 11 Movie Review
This was pretty amazing. Apollo 11 is a documentary that showcases the mission of Apollo 11 and the moon landing in all its glory. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins are the famous three astronauts who embark on the adventure of a lifetime and it is all captured on film. Director Todd Douglas Miller uses all original footage from the 1969 mission and cuts it together to tell a cohesive and linear story. This documentary features no interviews and very little outside interference. Miller simply lets the footage speak for itself.
Personally I was amazed at how much footage there was. Obviously this was a momentous occasion so they wanted to document it but I don’t typically think of 1969 as a period of time where cameras were everywhere the way they are now. But they caught so much of it on camera, it’s really neat. You get to see behind the scenes of the NASA headquarters and just how many people were actually involved in this undertaking. Miller also does an excellent job of showing the trajectory the rocket takes to get to the moon and then to get back to Earth. He uses a little animated diagram that helps to orient you with what you are actually watching in “real time” (super helpful for those of us who are not aerospace engineers).
I’ve always been fascinated with space and the moon landing in particular so this was right up my alley. I loved getting to see a behind the scenes look at the mission and all of the people who worked together to make it happen. For anyone who was alive for the moon landing I’d imagine this movie would be even more impactful. And I bet you might recognize some of the footage that Miller uses.
Miller does an excellent job of dividing his time covering the NASA headquarters, the astronauts in space, and the regular civilians who are watching the rocket launch. This diversity helped to keep me engaged his pacing kept me glued to the screen. What an astonishing feat with some really amazing footage. Apollo 11 is worth the watch.
Film or Movie: Movie
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You like space
2. You were alive for the moon landing
3. You’d like to see a nice companion piece to First Man
