Apollo 13 (1995)

This is easily Ron Howard's best film, and his direction shines here. His hand, his eye, and his focus are so steady, it makes it difficult to find any real faults in it. An exciting and fully entertaining history ride.

Ron 'Opie' Howard wings it again with his patented clumsy direction.Authenticity is thrown out the space window. Examples: having NASA dudes talking politics two feet away from the tonnage-heavy 'wheel tracks' of the 'crawler' (the vehicle which transports the rocket to the launch pad at 1 mile an hour); making astronauts Haise and Swigert argue and point fingers at one another concerning the accident in the spacecraft; mission commander Lovell (Tom Hanks with his squirrelly voice in tow) losing his temper and yelling in a NASA space center meeting; flight director Kranz finding a little corner to sit in so he can sulk; the predictable changing of original verbal transmissions; much more fictional silliness.Like most contemporary Hollywood movies, every actor looks like he's 'acting', including veteran Ed Harris who should know better, though Kathleen Quinlan is adequate as Lovell's wife, Marilyn.Film plays like a TV-movie or a cheap direct-to-video flick. As usual, the trajectory of blame should land right on top of Opie whom has yet to establish himself as a major film director.

A good historical film that traces the Apollo 13 mission, we have three visions of action, the rocket where are the three astronauts, the NASA command post where the best scientists of the world try to help these three men stuck in the space and the families, mostly Jim Lovell's, played by Tom Hanks, these three points of view are quite interesting. I think that the fact that I already know the story, and therefore the end, disturbed me a bit, at no time did I think "they may not be able to survive", it's a disadvantage, we do with. All in all the movie is good or very good but I think, even if it seems harmless, I would have liked that the sentence "Houston, we've had a problem" has more importance and is said in a tone perhaps more solemn than just said like that, it is certainly why I rate 7 and not 8. "Houston, we've had a problem" was essential.

'Apollo 13' had so much going for it, being based on an actual event that continues to move and inspire, Ron Howard showing evidence of some fine films and on paper a great cast. The great news is that with the promise that it had 'Apollo 13' delivers.For starters, it's a technical tour-De-force. It's beautifully photographed, the space setting is enough to leave one in awe and the special effects still hold up incredibly well today. The music score is provided by the now regrettably late (as of two years ago) James Horner. To me it contains some of his best work.It is a hauntingly beautiful score that gives a real sense of adventure, tension and mystery, "All Systems Go-The Launch" in particular, the opening trumpet theme and "Lunar Dreams" very close behind.There is a great script too, regardless of accuracy or lack of it 'Apollo 13' is up there with having one of the most quotable scripts for any film that decade. Ed Harris has the best lines, but the most unforgettable and oft-quoted line is "Houston we have a problem". The story is the kind that leaves one in awe, biting the nails with its high levels of suspense, wrenches the heart in a poignant way and also very inspired. 'Apollo 13' is lengthy and deliberately paced but neither are issues, like they could have been potentially, everything else is just too good.Howard's direction is some of the best he's ever done. A huge asset is the acting, which is nothing short of excellent and often more than that. Tom Hanks excels with an ordinary character that he plays with understated command. Bill Paxton and Kevin Bacon are welcome contrasts, Gary Sinise is a reliably strong presence and Ed Harris' superb performance to me was the best performance of the cast.In conclusion, brilliant film, no problems here. 10/10 Bethany Cox