The lead-up to great event is both suspenseful and educational, and the blast off is really awe-inspiring. The first orbits of the globe really disperse that cynicism; you can’t help but identify and join with the technocrats and the astronauts as they express their humble appreciation and giddy enthusiasm. Beautiful pictures! The same goes for the next stage of the journey, and with the amazing sight of those rocket stages falling away below them. The subsequent stages of the mission are good for us to see and learn and know about. I wonder, though. Are we seeing this through technocrat lenses, or is it informed by the attitude attending that party in which Nixon announced the bombings in Cambodia? Wonder gives way to routine, or silliness, or even the sinister.
Wait. Now we’re actually seeing it through the lenses of a sourpuss conspiratorialist. The movie should be better, but it’s pretty cool.