Review: 'The Last Man On The Moon' Is An Engaging Look Back At One Of The Most Exciting Times In American History
Between 1969 and 1972, 12 American men walked on the moon. Since then, no country and no man has been back to the lunar surface. The last person to do so, Eugene “Gene” Cernan, spent three days performing experiments and exploring the moon’s surface in 1972. And on December 14th, Cernan ascended the ladder into the Lunar Module, leaving his footprints on the surface behind him. “The Last Man On The Moon” attempts, with modest success, to trace the route of Cernan’s journey to this seminal moment of human history.
The doc picks up with Cernan, now 81, as he looks back on what got him into a space suit. Born in rural Illinois and raised in the midwest, Cernan learned at a young age to work with his hands. After graduating from college he enlisted in the Navy, where he first learned to fly. Cernan soon found himself among an elite group of fighter pilots who operated off of an aircraft carrier — one of the deadliest jobs a pilot could take on. Cernan, though, was a special breed....