Apollo 11 gives the real life take on one of the most historic events in human history with a beautiful remaster of the original footage and an immersive looking into the entire journey of the moon landing.

Starting about three hours before astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins launched to achieve a historic accomplishment, the film delves into atmosphere of the event and some of the nuts and bolts behind the scenes.

Like another documentary I loved earlier in the year, They Shall Not Grow Old, Apollo 11 also does a great job with pacing and not breaking the immersive nature of the film by keeping viewers in the moment. There’re no “experts” it cuts to or interviews, rather viewers are given a full experience of everything in the moon landing mission that make you feel like you are literally in the command center.

The film does a great job exploring the aspect of their journey and even what the event meant to those back on Earth. There’s almost step by step instructions that delve into the procedure that Armstrong and company had to do for their mission to be successful and it’s done in a way that’s easy to follow and won’t go too far over anyone’s head. One of my favorite things, though, had to be how the film captures people looking on and waiting for the rocket to launch. It was literally a public event that was lively and that everyone came in hordes to see. I’ve never really seen the Apollo 11 launch shown this way and I felt incredibly connected to them as we were both eagerly waiting for the launch.

The remastering of the original archived footage is absolutely stunning and while it might be from 50 years ago, it frankly looks like it a brand-new film that was just made. There’s also some great new footage that gives us a more personal experience with both those that are in the command center as well as Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins when they are in space. There’s also some great sound design that make this film more than worth it to see it in IMAX while you still can.

While I do wish some of the audio was a little bit better as it can be over taken by static at times, it was still great to hear some of the fun jokes and even a small discussion between President Nixon and the astronauts that gave a full perspective on the impact of this accomplishment. The way it delves into the impact is also interesting as it keeps its focus on the “in the moment” impact rather than it’s longstanding impact which gives it a more personal feel.

Apollo 11 mostly matches and compliments the impact of one of the most historic feats in human history with a beautifully immersive film full of awe. The magic of Apollo 11 doesn’t come from it needing to be a riveting film or full of new information, but instead comes from a personal film that evokes feelings of pride and wonder for a truly historic accomplishment.

Watch the Trailer Here: