Working in the realm of music with his first three features, it may seem strange that La La Land director Damien Chazelle’s next project is a straightforward drama about Neil Armstrong and NASA and their attempts on the famous 1969 moon landing. And while it doesn’t quite hit the high points that made the 2016 Emma Stone musical so entertaining, Chazelle’s First Man still delivers on a film that is dramatic, exciting, intense, and emotionally resonant, all the while crafting a powerful and human characterization of Armstrong that makes him an endearing American hero.

While La La Land was more dream-like, First Man follows the routes of Chazelle’s Whiplash in delivering strong intensity, particularly with Armstrong and NASA’s attempts at trying to perfect the space crafts. Not only do these sequences showcase some astounding and breathtaking outer space visuals, as well as some impressive cinematography from Linus Sandgren, they also demonstrate the stress and danger Armstrong went through. The Gemini 8 sequence is a perfect example, demonstrating the claustrophobia Armstrong and David Scott felt, as well as showcasing gorgeous space visuals. And once the space craft goes out of control, the film really ramps up the intensity, with effective usage of shaky cam, impressive sound design, realistic crashes, and a real sense of urgency that really puts the viewer on the edge of their seat. Not only is it impressive from a technical standpoint, it shows what the people at NASA went through to have their potential moon landing be successful. Chazelle has a clear respect for the corporation and what they did to achieve such an impossible feat as portrayed in the film.

As for Armstrong himself, Ryan Gosling is absolutely fantastic, delivering one of the best performances of his career. Both him and Chazelle deliver a lot of dimension to Armstrong, as both a family man and as a brave astronaut. Gosling plays Armstrong somewhat understated and quiet, more often than not calculating his decisions, while still having a strong sense of empathy. Claire Foy as Neil’s wife Janet also delivers, conflicting with wanting her husband to succeed while fearing for his life and whether he will see his sons again. Admittedly their relationship was never quite as strong as I had hoped for, and I do believe another rewrite could have made their already solid characterization stronger, but they definitely still deliver some great performances.

But like with every Chazelle production, the best moment in the entire film is the ending. Showcasing the actual moon landing, the outer space visuals soar, the cinematography shines, the score composed by Jon Hurwitz is emotional and beautiful, Gosling delivers a powerful final moment, and it ends on such a melodic high note that it makes it worth the price of admission alone. It’s definitely up there as one of the best sequences of the year.

By all accounts, First Man works as a solid biopic, as Chazelle makes something that is visually impressive, well-acted, and emotional, resulting in a solid film experience. Another solid production from Chazelle, although it doesn’t quite reach the same emotional resonance that La La Land achieved.