Love letter to NASA


It was not pre ordained that the Apollo mission would succeed. Any number of things could have gone wrong. JFK's challenge to NASA was seen as a tall order even in the early 1960s.

The death of the astronauts White, Grissom and Chafee in Apollo 1 brought into sharp focus the human cost of space flight. The film is reminder of the team effort made by NASA to get Neil Armstrong and his crew to the moon. I am surprised that there is ongoing debate about flag when the film clearly celebrates the can- do spirit of America.

reply

I suspect everyone who is still talking about the flag controversy hasn't seen the film. If they have, then they're just trolling. The film is not anti-American at all.

I just got home and enjoyed the film quite a bit.

My guess is that the negative reviews that have popped up from critics are from people who have no specific interest in NASA or the space program.

reply

Well-stated. I’m willing to bet those still claiming that this film is “anti-American”, are simply projecting. So much of what they preach... they don’t practice. But any excuse to criticize a Hollywood production, especially nowadays.

reply

The movie is not anti-American, but it does seem odd to have omitted the establishing of the U.S. flag on the Lunar surface, which was a big moment if you were watching in 1969. The flag was only shown, very tiny, in a long shot of the LEM.

reply