I have to mention that I was already going into the film with a sniffy approach. This was all due to the timing of this film being made.
After the 'Oscars-so-white' moment, there just so happens to be a film coming out about black women helping NASA in the space race.
Whether it's a true story or not, I just felt this was made because of how last years Oscars went down. But as filming began just after the Oscars, I will remain fairly confident on the reasoning for this being made.
But as always, I went into this film with an open mind. I obviously knew nothing about this story. But I was very interested as I am always in space stories, especially involving the 'space race'.
Now that I've seen it, I think my views would have been the same even the unsure feelings beforehand. Everything about it moves along at a soft and gentle pace and it is an all-round solid film.
The performances across the board are all pretty good. Taraji P. Henson holds the film really well, and I hope to see her in more films. She contributes heavily to my favourite scene in the film. I liked Janelle Monae's sassy style to her character. It was great seeing her at any given moment. Octavia Spencer is always good to watch, and she certainly contributes well in this.
Kevin Costner did a solid job, and it was nice Jim Parsons be in a serious role. Kirsten Dunst I felt was wasted in this. She played a bit of a generic character and did not seem to give anything that warranted a big star like herself to do. Another one that felt wasted was Mahershala Ali, but not as much as Dunst.
I was happy to see Glenn Powell be part of this as I have really enjoyed his roles in the last 12 months as his charm was certainly well used.
What I liked about the most was just being told this wonderful true story. It is certainly a story that needed to be common knowledge and I am glad to have become aware of it.
However, as much as I liked the feel-good tone and family friendly content. I just think it was too safe, watered down and 'on the nose'. It is certainly the most accessible of all the Best Picture nominees. But I think it could have been more of challenging and profound viewing.
There was also a romantic sub-plot that I felt did not add anything to it. I think it was just done for the sake of it actually happening during those events.
Despite my criticism, I think it is a perfectly fine solid film and pleasant viewing. It's light-hearted and uplifting tone will please many audiences of varying ages. The performances are worth watching and I really liked the 1960's look.
Sadly for a film that has got many nominations in the major awards, I was expecting something more. With it not having any challenging to talk about, or having a more challenging script. It did not make me think this was an exceptional film.
I think this got the praise that it has on the story rather than the film. That's fine, as I think it is definitely a story that needs to be heard. I would definitely recommend families to show it to their kids if they of a suitable age, which I think is around 7 and above.
Rating: 7/10
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