Apollo 13 (1995)

NASA must devise a strategy to return Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy. Director Ron Howard recruits Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Ed Harris and Gary Sinise for a spectacular and above else dramatically epic adventure. The special effects are dazzling, the perfomances are top notch and the direction from Howard just terrific and definitely a movie that deserves way more recognation from movie critics and viewers alike and if you love Tom Hanks you definitely don't wanna miss it. (A+)

"Apollo 13" is an absolute masterpiece of the 20th century. Although the film is 2 Hours & 20 minutes long, the film is so well acted, so well written, and so well directed that the time just flys by. It is so suspenseful and accelerating that you fell like your watching a film half the length. Ron Howard knocked it out of the park with this film in a way that he never did before or, debatably, since. Although Howard would go on to win Best Director for "A Beautiful Mind," it didn't have to emotional power that "Apollo 13" does (although Russell Crowe was snubbed for Best Actor). It is one of the few films that made me tears-eyed at the end.Performance wise, this film is stacked to the brim with talent. Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton (RIP), and Kevin Bacon are all fantastic as the three main astronauts, but the stand out performances of the film are from Ed Harris, who is in charge of the mission and tries everything he can to make sure the astronauts get to the moon safely (and when the mission goes awry, make sure they get back to Earth safely). Harris always has this presence about him whenever he's in a movie that always makes him electrifying to watch. The other stand out Kathleen Quinlan, who plays Tom Hanks wife. She is fantastic as the worried spouse who is still trying to keep herself composed during the whole ordeal.Now I would be remiss if I didn't mention the amazing techniquality of this movie. The Editing and Sound design are fantastic, and both won well deserved Oscars, and the score by the late, great James Horner can be positively heart-pounding and then heart-warming. Overall, watch"Apollo 13" is definite must-watch that still holds up after 23 years.

"Apollo 13" is the kind of movie that you have seen a millions of other times in other films. It's another film about the great America and one of the thousand times that did things that shook the world. If you are ok with that then you will have a great time watching this movie. First of all it's really well crafted. Really for this film to be made in 1995 is really impressive. Sure there are some old effects and a naive screenplay but this movie was made in the mid 90's! That alone is so impressive. I don't know if the events are portrayed with a lot of reality but this is not a documentary so I was alright with that. It's a fun movie with some really good performances (seems like Tom Hanks is playing the good guy since forever) with my favorite being probably Ed Harris's role. As I said the story is really naive. All characters are portrayed like they are the best persons in the world and any conflict or obstacles are gone after a while for the shake of the good ending. But that was the case abput blockbuster films back then. And at least fromsame films of this century "Apollo 13" has a soul. It takes itself as seriously as it must for the story to proceed without being tiresome. The movie gets into the mission right away and our heroes are sent to the moon in the first 30 minutes. It's a fast paced and hard boiled movie that you will enjoy if you shut off your brain and let it tell you its story without expecting much. So sit back get a couple of friends and good food and get ready for a really fun 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.