I'm The Urban Spaceman Baby

I've been turning this particular little essay over and over in my mind, rather fearing that it will expose me as the half-wit thicko I really am. Yes, yes, I can hear you at the back, sniggering and asserting that no new proof is needed. But here goes anyway.

I have in mind three films about space travel  - it's not all they are about but it pulls them together nicely. First Man is the most recent and, despite it being about arguably the defining technological achievement of the twentieth century (I know that's a big claim but we can argue about that next time we meet - over a pint) it is the simplest in plot and cinematic method. Ryan Gosling plays Neil Armstrong, an understated and thereby commanding performance. Liked it, 7.5/10.

First Man put me in mind of the earlier and sprawlier (is that even a word?) The Right Stuff. This epic concentrates on the early American astronauts, whose number of course included Armstrong. The show is stolen by an actor who embodies my notion of cool - Sam Shepard. Shepard was cooler even than Johnny Depp and only a special few people know how dangerously close I come to a man crush on Depp - before his recent uber-weirdness of course. But enough of my predilections, what about The Right Stuff, is it any good? Decidedly so. 8/10. My favourite critic Roger Ebert (like Shepard sadly no longer with us but his acolytes continue the good work of his website) rated it possibly more highly than this and I would never go out of my way to disagree with Ebert. Which will make the next paragraph all the harder.

2001: A Space Odyssey has always had the Overgraduate puzzled. Put bluntly he has tried on several occasions but failed to find where the fascination lies. So on the plane on the way over to Canada, in the comfort of his business class pod, he decided to give it another go. The screen on Air Canada is huge and the earphones are good so the viewing is pretty immersive. I cannot blame the circumstances or the locus for my reaction. That reaction is a mile away from Roger Ebert's which places it as one of the greatest movies of all time, hence my hesitation. But when all is said and done I think this is dangerously close to pretentious tosh (the film not my review). Yes I see certain huge merits: the realisation of life in space still stands up these fifty years after the film was made; the opening ape scenes are visceral and compelling; the classical score is masterful. But, I'm sorry, the final act is a psychedelic mess and a bit of a philosophical cop-out. Do I hear a machine in the background intoning - I'm sorry Dave I don't think I can let you say that. 6.5/10.