Monday, April 8, 2019

Movie review: The Right Stuff

 
 The Right Stuff chronicles NASA's early steps leading to the space race. From breaking the sound barrier in 1947 to the Mercury missions in the 1960's, The Right Stuff follows our early astronauts and their aggressive approach to the space program.

Sam Shepard (Yeager), Scott Glenn (Shepard), Ed Harris (Glenn), Dennis Quaid (Cooper), Fred Ward (Grissom), Barbara Hershey (Glennis), Lance Henriksen (Schirra), Kim Stanley (Barnes), Veronica Cartwright (Betty).

The Right Stuff begins well with character introductions and a bit of background as things get rolling. While the storyline feels a bit plain, the inclusion of some comedy, variety, and a stellar cast keep things very interesting. The trials and difficulties experienced by early NASA astronauts was incredible, as was their brutal determination. This adaptation of a Tom Wolfe novel is brought to life on the big screen and presents the technological, personal, and political achievements which led us into space.

Who wasn't in this one? The Right Stuff has a wonderful, well experienced cast that did exceptionally well. Shepard, Glenn, Harris, Quaid, Ward, and Henriksen all did a great job. Hershey was a good addition and did nicely, as did Stanley, Cartwright, and the remainder of the supporting cast.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are all well done with a solid realistic feel. Action scenes are fitting and nicely expressed the dangers of heading into space. Dialogue was good with nice bits of humor and kept the film flowing well. Sound and soundtrack are solid.

Though the plot pretty much just jumps from milestone to milestone, if you have any interest in the space race and how we got where we are now with space exploration, watch this one. Some of the things these guys did were insanely amazing. I really enjoyed the disk extras which talked a bit more about the history and had short biographies of each of the 7 astronauts.

With some mild sexuality, violence, and foul language, this should be fine for teens and above.

Released: 1983
Reviewed: 4.1.19
Star rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Genre: Drama, Adventure, Biography, Dramas Based on the Book, Dramas Based on Real Life

copyright ©2019 Dave Riedel

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