5 Best Shots from Rocketman: Mad Mike's Mission to Prove the Flat Earth

Shot #1 - At Odds with the World 

We meet Mad Mike as a solo man, although he has a crew. But while setting him up as a man at odds with the world isn't too terribly hard (there's some nice uses of internet comments throughout) there are some deft touches throughout Cats manage to be relatable as well as a little crazy. Showing the cat some troll's online comments definitely puts you over the top. And locking your mailbox up doesn't help either. 

Shot #2 - Informoverload

I love the difference between the internet world that observes Mike and the man himself. Here's Mike on a Canadian show Informoverload and it's harder to see two things more at odds: Mike in his grungy shirt, with his homemade rocket in the background and the two hosts with a MacBook in front of them. 

Shot #3 - Summing Everything Up

What a great shot with Waldo, the self taught rocket scientist of the group, describing what will happen to Mike's rocket after launch. The look of it all is just perfect: The sunlight through the beer bottle with the real rocket in the background, Mike looking on, Waldo in his American flag t-shirt with the real American flag in the background. In one shot is the chord this movie is trying to strike - I don't know whether to be proud of their ingenuity and individual spirit or shocked that this is how people choose to spend their time. 


Spoiler below

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Shot #4 - Liftoff

It's genuinely thrilling to see Mike takeoff. For all that he might be a little crazy, it's one of the most heartfelt moments in the movie and it's a tribute to  Toby Brusseau and Michael Linn that they keep the tension throughout. 

Shot #5 - Both Prone and Spent

Having given all they can give both man and vessel end up lying parallel, Mike heading off to get checked out by paramedics and "Flat Earth" there to wait until next time. 

Bonus Shot - Roadtrips 

Mike shifting his trailer home to the launch site. C'mon. Every doc deserves a ride-along camera shot.