Runtime: 140 minutes
Directed by: Ron Howard
Starring: A great cast
From: Universal
I swear, it was a coincidence that this movie will be reviewed on the 55th anniversary of the actual Apollo 13 spacecraft suffering a catastrophic failure and only due to the hard work during crisis of the astronauts in space + mission control did they make it back to Earth safely. I have viewed the movie before—albeit, the last time was in the late 90's, meaning “more than a quarter-century ago.” It leaving Netflix at the end of the month plus my having free time to see a movie over 2 hours long were the main reasons this was selected. Some parts I did remember; it was more than just “Houston, we have a problem,” which has entered the English language as a still commonly-used phrase.
A plot description was already given by me; instead, I'll note that old pro Ron Howard did a great job presenting this world and giving the viewer time to know all the main players before they blast off into outer space. My expectations are high when a movie has as its main players Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton (this was a legendary time when he was able to star in big films), Gary Sinise and Ed Harris; those expectations were always met. It'd be a shame if I neglected to mention Kathleen Quinlan; as the wife of Hanks, she presented a reminder to the audience that the astronauts had family & friends outside of their job; she did a swell job herself.
Apollo 13 did a masterful job of presenting an incredible true-life story and making it cinematic. The journey was never dull, the effects were still top-notch, the James Horner score still stirring, the drama still on-point, the Ron Howard direction still superb. In 2025 especially, I better appreciate the era where big-budget films presented serious drama involving a number of nerdy scientists, and not only was the movie a box office smash, it technically was superb & could be loved by film fans as well.
I should have blasted off into space and revisited Apollo 13 much sooner, in other words.
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