Apollo 13 (1995) begins with our characters watching the first moon landing over 50 years ago! Apollo 11 is a crucial part of our nation's history leading to our continued interest the final frontier. Two Apollo spacecraft later had a different fate, and this movie explores that journey. Read here!
For background, three astronauts are preparing for a trip to the moon. One is forced to abandon the mission and his backup replaces him with only a few days to spare. The launch happens perfectly, but complications arise as something breaks. The ship starts to fail, and NASA must help the astronauts make it back home alive.
Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton play our three astronauts of Apollo 13. Each one of them does an incredible job as does much of the cast. Gary Sinise plays our man who was forced off the flight. In hindsight, this decision actually becomes crucial as his character works hard to figure out how to save them. Next, we have Ed Harris. He was born to play this role especially since he basically reprises it in the movie Gravity. All of our NASA scientists flow exceptionally well to keep the high stakes energy present.
Another great part of this movie is the directing. Ron Howard knew his vision and executed this to perfection. It may be the best astronaut film we have. He presented dramatic tension as our heroes have many close calls with death. We see some comedy as they are attempting to survive. It is sort of a bonding experience for them to keep hopes alive.
Comments