Apollo 13 (1995)

So much average

good back-story, and good acting

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The acting in this movie is really good.

"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.

This was an fantastic movie. As a person who missed out on the actual Apollo 13 mission, this film was an excellent way to gain insight into the time, effort, and life-threatening situations that went into this mission. This film is constantly using cinematic elements to help support the story of this risky mission. Three of NASA's best astronauts, Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert, begin the mission with everything going as planned, a surprise after the many failed attempts shown in training. It is not until an oxygen tank fails to work and later explodes that send the audience's heart rate sky high. This movie helped the viewers greatly to gain understanding of the risks involved with being an astronaut at this time in history. A certain scene really grabbed my attention. Jim is in his son's room playing with his children and talking about the mission. The mood becomes much more serious when Jim's son mentions the possibility that he might die. With instances like this being hidden from public attention when the mission first took flight, this scene helped the audience to understand what the astronauts and their families were going through. In short, this movie is an excellent insight into the dangerous space exploration of the 1960's and 1970's. Every camera shot, beat of music, and speaking line was perfectly executed to engage the audience and tell an interesting story. It is no wonder this film won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing. This film is entirely worthwhile to watch.

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.

Plot; When an oxygen tank explodes, the crew of Apollo 13 works with NASA in a race against time to find a way to get back to Earth.Ron Howard is a director that I respect more than like. Whatever one thinks of his films, he has to score points for the variety of subjects that he tackles (Outside of his head scratching decision to keep adapting Dan Brown novels). He's tough to pigeonhole, and I like that. That said, I only truly like a small handful of his films, and Apollo 13 is certainly one of them.Howard deftly balances the human and technical drama. In fact, they form a symbiotic relationship that propels it through what feels like a breezy 2hrs. and 20 minutes. With an insanely talented cast at the top of their respective games and a score by James Horner, who could make a guy eating potatoes chips look epic, Apollo 13 is a reminder that real heroes don't wear capes.