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Review: The Right Stuff (1983)
I'd say that this movie was okay, but it wasn't for me. I was surprised by all the high reviews it had. In addition to being incredibly long, this movie seemed directed at Americans, so it didn't really inspire me.
The move never seemed to take itself too seriously so it was easy to just treat it as a simple piece of entertainment. I admit I watched this movie while doing something else, but could still pay attention to the story line. In contrast, there have been American military movies that took itself way too seriously and I was unable to focus on them at all. So this movie has that lighter tone going on for it.
Spoilers.
Story
The story followed a group of pilots as they trained to be the first astronauts in space. The main group of pilots were portrayed as smart alecks who were reluctantly acknowledged by the authorities because it was clear that they were capable.
There weren't really any major conflicts in the story as far as I could tell. The space program went through problems, but at no point did I ever feel a sense of dread because I thought the main characters would be going through some trouble.
The run time almost made me not want to watch this movie but I figured I could get through it if I did something else while watching the movie. I think I was right. If I'd focused completely on this movie, I do think I would've gotten bored. Like I said, it never felt like the characters were in deep trouble, so I never felt that I had to worry about them.
There were cliches in the movie that might've been fresh at the time, but viewing it in 2020 did nothing for me. Stuff like rivals becoming friends, or jokes that would be dated now were all over the place.
Production
The costumes and set were all very well done. This was a movie from 1983, but nothing really felt fake or date. This includes everything from everyday clothes, to the space suits and space shuttles.
Characters
It was pretty difficult to keep track of the characters at first because they were so many of them. I think the average American viewer might've already been familiar with the names that were brought up, but for me, I could only recognize a couple of names like Alan Shepard.
In general, I felt that many of the astronauts had roughly the same character with small variances. They were all headstrong guys, but might've ranged from boisterous and flirty to calm and homey. But they barely had conflicts over matters of principle. This was fine for a movie that didn't really have any conflicts in its story.
Overall
Again, I'd say that this was an okay movie. It didn't leave an impression on me. I just viewed it like I would any other American movie about its space program.
This movie wasn't as serious as other similar movies I've watched, so it was easier to stick with it as simply a form of entertainment than a serious drama film.
The move never seemed to take itself too seriously so it was easy to just treat it as a simple piece of entertainment. I admit I watched this movie while doing something else, but could still pay attention to the story line. In contrast, there have been American military movies that took itself way too seriously and I was unable to focus on them at all. So this movie has that lighter tone going on for it.
Spoilers.
Story
The story followed a group of pilots as they trained to be the first astronauts in space. The main group of pilots were portrayed as smart alecks who were reluctantly acknowledged by the authorities because it was clear that they were capable.
There weren't really any major conflicts in the story as far as I could tell. The space program went through problems, but at no point did I ever feel a sense of dread because I thought the main characters would be going through some trouble.
The run time almost made me not want to watch this movie but I figured I could get through it if I did something else while watching the movie. I think I was right. If I'd focused completely on this movie, I do think I would've gotten bored. Like I said, it never felt like the characters were in deep trouble, so I never felt that I had to worry about them.
There were cliches in the movie that might've been fresh at the time, but viewing it in 2020 did nothing for me. Stuff like rivals becoming friends, or jokes that would be dated now were all over the place.
Production
The costumes and set were all very well done. This was a movie from 1983, but nothing really felt fake or date. This includes everything from everyday clothes, to the space suits and space shuttles.
Characters
It was pretty difficult to keep track of the characters at first because they were so many of them. I think the average American viewer might've already been familiar with the names that were brought up, but for me, I could only recognize a couple of names like Alan Shepard.
In general, I felt that many of the astronauts had roughly the same character with small variances. They were all headstrong guys, but might've ranged from boisterous and flirty to calm and homey. But they barely had conflicts over matters of principle. This was fine for a movie that didn't really have any conflicts in its story.
Overall
Again, I'd say that this was an okay movie. It didn't leave an impression on me. I just viewed it like I would any other American movie about its space program.
This movie wasn't as serious as other similar movies I've watched, so it was easier to stick with it as simply a form of entertainment than a serious drama film.