Apollo 13


"We've never lost an American in space...we're sure as hell not gonna lose one on my watch! Failure is not an option."    - Gene Kranz


release year: 1995
genre: space drama
viewing setting: home Bluray 2/18/18 and 11/23/17 and 5/4/17 and home DVD, 10/13/13 and 3/28/10 and 8/28/08 and 5/25/02

synopsis:  The moon-landing mission of Apollo 13 runs into trouble in outer space; based on actual events from 1970.

impressions: It's tense, nervous excitement, especially if you like spaceflight. However, with repeated viewings, it becomes less entertaining (at least to me) due to knowing what problems will arise and how they get tackled. Still, this movie is an interesting look at how the space program worked during its moonflight phase.

acting: Outstanding. Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Bacon are the trio of astronauts who must overcome all sorts of problems in order to survive. Ed Harris is in charge of things on the ground. Gary Sinise is the astronaut who got booted from the mission at the last minute, but can offer major help from the ground, via the simulator. There are at least a dozen solid supporting roles.

final word: Along with The Right Stuff, this is one of the best "true" manned spaceflight movies ever made.

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