PlatinumRead Just so...so bad

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Maleeha Vincent It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

classicsoncall Even knowing the outcome, the strength of the movie is in putting you right in the space capsule along side Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) and Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) in what was one of the best nail-biters in history. The world was transfixed at the time wondering how and if these brave astronauts would ever make it back to Earth. What one never thinks about are all the behind the scenes decisions that go with selecting who goes on a particular mission, how their families feel about it, and how important it is to the men themselves to be a part of history. The other element that amazes is how many integrated parts come together to enable such a space mission. One sees the booster rockets fall away shortly after launch and figure that's it, the men are on their way to the moon. But then they have to dock with the lunar module and carry it along for the voyage. When the astronauts suffered their cascading set of problems, the ingenuity required by both the men on the ground and the pilots in the space craft demonstrated just how much teamwork was necessary to bring them back home safely.What's baffling to me is how Ron Howard was overlooked for a best Director nod for this picture. Though the film itself got an Oscar nomination, Howard was eked out by the guy who directed "Babe"??? That's just a travesty, even if one doesn't care much for Howard as an actor or director. I'm not saying he should have won it, but gee, what were they thinking?

hongkong666 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!

jimbo-53-186511 Apollo 13 follows the ill-fated mission back in 1970 of three astronauts attempting to land on the moon. When an explosion on the space shuttle forces the astronauts to abort their mission (which initially causes disappointment, but ultimately sets off a chain reaction of problems for the astronauts) flight director Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) and his team of NASA boffins must try to navigate the pilots back to Earth using several risky and untried methods....My summary above does give a basic foundation for this film, but unfortunately a lot of what I describe above occurs in the second half of the film (which I'm prepared to admit was pretty engrossing). It's a shame really that the first half of the film isn't anywhere near as strong as the second half as it could have been a truly great film rather than being merely a good film. The build-up to the space mission was dull and padded; Howard feels the need to show some syrupy family dynamics and topical references such as Lovell's daughters being upset about the Beatles breaking up (which seemed to have just been thrown in there to remind folks that it was set in 1970 and to give the film some soapy slush). The training aspect before the space mission was dull and I've got to be honest that I did find the film a bit tough going in the first hour.... but then....Howard must have had a big kick up the backside because the second half of the film was great. It has drama, tension and I really liked the way that everyone all chipped in together to try and get 3 of their best astronauts safely back to Earth. There is so much intricate planning in the second half that it becomes hard to keep up (and all of the geeky space talk will go over most people's heads), but the second half does contain everything that makes a good action/drama film and therefore for this portion of the film it gets two thumbs up. However....This is a narrative problem so I'm unsure who to blame here, but throughout the space mission we're led to believe that Swigert is the one who is responsible for the explosion on the shuttle and he is generally deemed as the 'bad guy' - also due to the fact that he took Mattingley's place on the shuttle. Swigert is never really painted in a positive light and I was fully ready to hate him at the end, but then I found that the rug was pulled from under me when I learned that the explosion was caused due to a defect with the shuttle rather than being caused by human error. Huh?? So Swigert did nothing wrong?? Then why make him out to be the villain all along? I've not read Lovell's book so maybe this is explained there - was there beef between Lovell and Swigert or was this Ron Howard putting in a curveball twist? Either way it didn't sit well with me and I would have preferred to have been behind all 3 of the astronauts rather than 2 of them. The energy that the film offers in the second half and the impressive cast and photography make this worth a look, but in my book this is far from being a perfect film.

Fluke_Skywalker 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.