ExploreCompareKidsFind Your IQMy TVITonightScore My ListBlogAboutNewsletterHow We ScoreJoin Founding Circle

Explore / drama

First Man IQ Score 166/200

First Man has an IQ Score of 166/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient rubric, placing it in the Masterclass tier.

dramahistoricalbiographical
166/ 200
Masterclass

Exceptional cognitive and educational substance, delivered with craft that sustains close attention

First Man poster, IQ Score 166/200, Masterclass tier on TV Intelligentsia

Score Breakdown

Cognitive Stimulation/50
38
Educational Value/50
42
Craft & Quality/50
46
IQ = round((Cognitive × 0.4 + Educational × 0.35 + Craft × 0.25) × 4)  · How we score →
What these dimensions mean
  • Cognitive Stimulation: how much the title demands of your mind, its structural complexity, ideas, and sustained intellectual engagement.
  • Educational Value: what you take away, across academic content, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, life skills, and knowledge transfer.
  • Craft & Quality: production excellence in service of the work, its direction, writing, performance, and aesthetic intent.

Saves to your browser. See your Personal IQ on My TVI →

Why you should trust this score

Scored under Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH
Physician and founding editor. Maintains the adult catalog against the published rubric and reviews the rubric application.
Formula
round((C × 0.40 + E × 0.35 + Q × 0.25) × 4)
Database scale
2,599 titles, version-controlled

How we stay independent. Editorial scores are not for sale. TVI may take on paid advisory or research work, but no commercial relationship buys coverage, advance access to scores, favorable treatment, or a change to a published finding. We pay for our own streaming subscriptions, and no reviewer sees sponsor data or affiliate revenue tied to a score. More about how we work →

The TVI Take

Damien Chazelle's 2018 Neil Armstrong biopic, Josh Singer's screenplay adapting James Hansen's biography. Ryan Gosling plays Armstrong through the death of his daughter Karen, the X-15 test program, and Apollo 11.

Chazelle stages the lunar landing in handheld 16mm cockpit close-up rather than wide vista. Linus Sandgren's cinematography refuses heroic iconography.

People & Production Damien Chazelle · Universal Pictures · United States 26 connections

Direction & creation

On screen & sound

Selected cast
Ryan Gosling Claire Foy Corey Stoll Kyle Chandler Jason Clarke Patrick FugitSelected in source order; not represented as billing order.
Cinematography

Production & release

Country of origin
Original language

Credits and relationships: Wikidata, CC0. TVI preserves production, broadcasting, and distribution as separate roles.

Follow this thread

Keep going through a creator, company, network, or connected work.

Explore the connection →

The Trailer

Official trailer, embedded from YouTube.

Where to Watch

See all options on JustWatch →

Streaming availability data via JustWatch + TMDB. Updated weekly; check the provider for current pricing.

Where to go next

Cite this score

First Man scored 166/200 (Masterclass tier) on TV Intelligentsia's published methodology. Source: tvintelligentsia.com/titles/first-man/

Public score feed (JSON) How we score →
Where to next?

Get scores for new titles every week.

The Intelligentsia Report, every Saturday. Free.

Founding Circle · the first 100

Lifetime premium access. $99 once.

Founders Wall, monthly Founders Newsletter, quarterly Deep Dive, two title requests a year, first access to everything new. 6-month full refund.

Join Founding Circle →

Want the bigger picture? Score your whole watchlist →