Tag: Damien Chazelle

Critical Divide: Why First Man isn’t Landing with All Viewers

Critical Divide First Man

The 5 Biggest Reasons Critics and Audiences are Split on the Film

Despite soaring in terms of critical accolades, First Man seems to be crashing below box office expectations. The Neil Armstrong biopic landed in third place behind last week’s reigning champs, Venom and A Star is Born, with a $16.5 million domestic gross at the box office. Unlike director Damien Chazelle’s past films, First Man was made with a reported $70 million budget, meaning box office receipts of $20 million on opening weekend, while not disastrous, are probably less than studios were anticipating. Critical darlings such as this typically have long legs at the box office thanks to potential award buzz, but it’s troubling that the film, while not bombing, isn’t burning as brightly with audiences. While the consensus from audiences isn’t that they disliked the space drama, the film’s B+ CinemaScore and 65% from Rotten Tomatoes are light when compared to the near perfect scores critics have been awarding it.

Here are the 5 reasons why First Man isn’t landing perfectly with audiences.

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First Man (2018) Review

First Man Review

3.5 out of 4 stars (3.5 / 4)

First Man’s refusal to stray from hyper-focusing on the psyche of Neil Armstrong may be divisive for some viewers. However, director Damien Chazelle has created another captivating portrait of the pursuit of greatness and the nuances of what can drive us.

Biopics can be remarkably challenging to create, as there is often implicit pressure to respectfully portray a monumental event or individual without becoming overly hung up on historical details. The key to their effectiveness is to present the historical figure in a relatable human manner that will hopefully provide a new and compelling perspective. Director Damien Chazelle, coming off of his last two award winning films (Whiplash and La La Land) which explored the pursuit of personal ambitions, proves to be the perfect match to flesh out astronaut Neil Armstrong’s path to accomplishing the extraordinary feat of being the first man to walk on the Moon.

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