Movie #150 2020: Apollo 11 (2019)

I’ve never been super into anything space-related. Except for Buzz Lightyear. But I love a good documentary, and I’d heard some great stuff about this one. Simply, I was not disappointed.

Not surprisingly, Apollo 11 tells the true story of the Apollo 11 space mission, in which we saw the first man land on the moon. With absolutely no commentary to guide the documentary, it is very original, and feels more as if you are watching the events unfold in real time. Like many modern movies, Apollo 11 is split into three distinct acts: take off, the moon landing itself, and bringing the men back safely. All of this gives it that feature film feel, which was brilliant – even though you know what happens, it creates a real tension, forcing you to continue with it.

The images have clearly been optimised for newer screens, but wow. It’s so cool to see all of this up close and in such vibrant technicolor. I would argue that this is actually the best choice for its imagery, as it offers a new perspective on something that happened all that time ago.

These events were obviously such a spectacle, and this documentary captures that essence of excitement perfectly. Not only are the panoramic shots of the crowds who went to watch this piece of history in the making helpful in doing so, but that rocket is cool as shit. Watching it lift off was equally intense and nerve-wracking as it was exciting and gorgeous (in terms of cinematography) to watch. 

There’s an air of American exceptionalism within this documentary that is kind of unsettling but I can’t put my finger on why that is. It remains as nauseating today as it was in 1969 though, which only peaks interest to the maximum.

Overall, this just re-affirmed that the moon landing was absolutely pointless. Nothing like a bit of Cold War dick-swinging just for fun at the expense of the American tax payer. ”MY MOON LANDING IS BETTER THAN YOUR MOON LANDING”.

I’m still glad that they did it though because it’s very pretty – and I’m absolutely glad that they compiled all of this footage in one place. Give it a watch if you’re sick of the same old documentary styles that plague television today.

Apollo 11 is available to stream on Netflix in the UK.

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