Apollo 13 (1995)

Excellent, a Must See

A Brilliant Conflict

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

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.

For those of us who lived through this period, and remember it clearly, perhaps we appreciate the film a bit more, or from a different perspective, but for those who were not yet born, this is the next best thing to having been there. Pretty close to a perfect film, from casting, to cutting, to special effects. Watching Titanic I knew that I was watching CGI, in this film at times it seemed more like a well crafted documentary. As real as the experience can get, through a camera's eye. So many perfect moments, the little boy asking about the fire, and the lost ring. A rather spectacular entertainment, that I could, and have watched again and again, if only for the launch sequence. A terrific film. Opie did good.

Always great to watch, no matter how many times you already have seen it. Apollo 13 is one of those movies for sure. First class directing, a cast that is simply mind blowing, character interactions you actually believe and a good soundtrack on top. This is Hollywood at its best. Needless to point out that Tom Hanks scores in this movie big time, for he is one of the greatest actors of all time in my opinion. What I do want to shine a light on is the amount of heart he transports in his role as Jim Lovell. In one word: impressive! Also Kevin Bacon and Ed Harris deliver an outstanding performance. The film may build a little slow at first, but when things are about to get serious you can't take your eyes off the screen anymore. Apollo 13 is one hell of a movie and this was definetely not the last time I watched it. And I probably have seen it about ten times before already. A true classic!

Synopsis: Tom Hanks stars in this Hollywood film that is based on the infamous Apollo 13 lunar landing as astronaut Jim Lovell. Alongside him are his fellow spacemen and trusty pals Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) and Fred Haise (Bill Paxton). A smooth beginning is foiled when the oxygen supply suddenly drops and their new flight path around the moon becomes a battle of survival.This amazing rendition of the crisis that is the Apollo 13 mission is overflowing with leaders within the film. Imagine you're the mission control leader on one of the biggest missions ever, one to the moon. All is great until an oxygen tank explodes and the other one leaks quickly. Now, enter the mind of Gene Kranz. He has several moments during the movie where he has to control the room and the million dollar metal rocket flying through space.The first is when the oxygen tank explodes. Everyone seems to be rushing to him asking him what they should do and he calmly says "one at a time". As a leader, you must be able to face hard situations with confidence because if you are scared, then everyone else is going to be even more scared. "Failure is not an option." The next display of leadership is when the men at mission control are discussing how long they will last and that they won't make it back to Earth. Gene tells them that they will and his resilience empowers all of the men. Once he is able to set a course of action, Gene displays an act of delegation. Delegation is a very important characteristic for a leader and his use of telling them they need to find the solution without him, allows him to be more aware of the other problems and to address the additional problems that are bound to arise. He also inspired them to think outside of the box by saying "I don't care what anything was designed to do. I care about what it can do." Because of this, they were able to break down the problems into sub-units and build a solution from the ground up. When the astronauts are just on the cusp of reentry, we see the NASA director talking about how this could be the worst disaster in the history of NASA. So then, just when everyone needed to be reassured the most, we see Gene swoop in and say, "With all due respect sir, I think that this is going to be our finest hour." Gene wasn't pessimistic, but optimistic about the outcome of the landing. How leaders deal with adversity and doubt is very important. Gene is a perfect example of a leader in this regard and all others. He is optimistic, calm against stress, and a leader that people want to follow.