Director Damien Chazelle managed to create moments from NASAs history in such a way that it feels like you are there in the cockpit experiencing the same incredible feats performed by those pioneers of the space program.
Undoubtedly there are better movies about NASA and the early space program, but this one was the first to place me there so completely. If you have chance to watch, this is an experience movie. Make Sure you aren't distracted. Watch on the biggest screen you can manage, and envelop yourself in sound.
Visceral is indeed the word - the in-cockpit views with the squeaks and groans of stressed metal, the vibration of the camera, it is a world apart from the usual Hollywood "technology in the background". First Man really emphasised the risk and cutting-edge nature of Neil's career, culminating in the often confusing rotating and pitching view from the LM to Tranquility Base.
The sound design in those sequences really got me (the spinning too.. Gemini 8 was crazy). The intensity level tops anything I've seen in this film genre before.