Grimerlana Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Peteryoung_37 I have NOT seen the movie but having read the book I have a cautionary comment,so I presume to review the other reviews. I am doing my damnedest to get access to the movie. Like many others, as is evident from most of the 17 preceding reviews, I have a great enthusiasm for the Feynman character and his books. I have read his book, "What Do YOU Care What Other People Think" (W.W. Norton & Company,2001) - twice, including recently. More than half of that book is devoted to Feynman's part in investigating the Challenger disaster. For that reason alone I'm mad keen to see the movie, which I only just heard about. BUT in one review a Doctor Judson A. Lovingood makes a spirited defence of what he sees as errors in the movie, including some that he believes are unfair to him. The only reason I'm writing this is because, as a retired engineer, like Dr Lovingood, and specialised in aeronautics, and particularly in Reliability, I implore readers to not let their no doubt well-founded enthusiasm for Feynman cause them to rush to judgement of Dr Lovingood. In spite of his genius (responsible for the basis of modern Quantum Theory, if I understand correctly - just ask Sheldon Cooper) Feynman was very human, and I believe at least one of the subject errors may be due to omission by Feynman from his investigations. Not to detract from the enormous credit due him for the result he and others achieved between them. The matters Lovingood complains of are very complex. I note that he is mentioned in several places through Feynman's book, as indicated in its Index. Because of this complexity, anyone wishing to judge the merit of Lovingood's complaints needs first to study them and Feynman's writings, and analyse very carefully. If you cannot spare the time and energy to do this, the only fair thing to do is to give Lovingood the benefit of the doubt, and accept his arguments as valid. Which is why I beg you, don't rush to judgement.

kai ringler i remember what I was doing when the Challenger blew up,, I was eating breakfast laying in bed,, home for school.. first time we got off for MLK day,, back when it was a federally mandated holiday,, William Hurt did an awesome job with this,, very good acting,, totally credible,, it was amazing to see just how much of a cover up there really was going on at NASA,,after all those accidents there for awhile,, people were saying that NASA stood for not another shuttle accident.. I know it's cruel,, but there was more than just that accident... also the company that NASA dealt with Morton Tyicol I believe they too were at fault and tried to cover the whole thing up,,, I enjoyed the movie very much, as was glad to see that the Challenger Disaster was finally put to the screen.

safarigirlinasia I stumbled across The Challenger Disaster late last night while watching Discovery. I was drawn into the film because it starts by depicting Feynmann, a legend in the physics world, teaching a class.For those who, like I do, work with physicists on a daily basis, William Hurt's depiction of Feynmann is particularly satisfying because the actor has captured so accurately the unique characteristics of both the man himself and of the profession as a whole. While watching this film, I often found myself nodding in recognition as Hurt showed us the kind of single-minded drive for the truth that can seize hold of a scientist engrossed in an interesting problem. At the same time, the more human side of those with such blazing intellect is also movingly portrayed. In Hurt's Feynmann, I saw the same spirit that my colleagues exhibit every day.The movie is also interesting for its historical aspects. In light of the recent cancelling of the shuttle program by the Obama administration, the revelations of NASA's attempt to justify costs and obtain continued funding by co-opting the Titan rocket program into their own payload have special significance. Likewise, the depiction of the pressurized, risk-accepting not-so-safe safety culture of the time will resonate in this post-Chernobyl, post-Fukushima, post-disaster era, where risk analysis and safety culture is growing in prominence.I was in junior high when the Challenger disaster occurred. I remember the shock and the disbelief, and I also remember how quickly the whole thing was forgotten. But as this movie reminds us, thanks to Dr. Feynmann's brilliant work, and the help of other men and women of integrity who were on the commission, something useful and lasting came out of it.

classicalsteve In 1986, the United States experienced possibly the worst space flight disaster in NASA's history up until that time. (The fire which occurred during the testing of Apollo 1 in 1967 was probably the worst before Challenger.) With a disaster of this magnitude, then President Reagan formed a board of inquiry to determine the cause of the Challenger's untimely explosion which occurred less than 1.5 minutes into its launch. Most of the members of the commission were government, military, and NASA insiders such as astronauts Neil Armonstrong and Sally Ride, Air Force General Donald Kutyna, and William P. Rogers, former cabinet member of presidents and adviser to President Reagan. However, one board member was not only NOT an insider but a Nobel Laureate in Physics: Dr Richard Feynman. The present film chronicles the investigation through the eyes of Feynman, played convincingly by William Hurt, regarded as a bit of a maverick who did not understand the magnitude of consequences if the full and possibly ugly truth were ever laid bare before public scrutiny.At the time of the disaster, Feynman was teaching physics at the California Institute of Technology. One of his former students, a NASA insider, recommends the professor become involved with the commission. From the first, Feynman clashes with the Director of the commission Rogers (Brian Dennehy), who is at first more worried about NASA's reputation than finding the cause of the Challenger disaster. Feynman begins a bit of rogue investigative work which frustrates other members of the commission, who are worried that reputations and business contracts could be be jeopardized by the findings.Feynman then befriends General Donald Kutyna (Bruce Greenwood), who turns out to be an invaluable ally in the investigation. Kutyna explains to Feynman that the politics surrounding such an investigation often becomes messy, even ugly. People try to veil the truth, often with lots of scientific jargon, fearing that reputations, positions, and even careers might be compromised if unflattering facts come into the spotlight. At the same time, since Feynman is an outsider, he is much more free to ascertain the truth than other members. Then the physics professor receives a strange message which says "it's just ivory soap". Late in the film, Feynman makes a fascinating presentation of his findings to the other commission members. After the credits, video footage of the real Feynman making the identical presentation is shown as a kind of epilogue or coda.A compelling and thoroughly entertaining insiders' look into a commission of inquiry appointed by the US Government. While the need to find the truth is what the public expects, they don't often see the political shenanigans which often occur when such an investigation embarks on its task. The Warren Commission, the mishandled board of inquiry formed to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, made decisions which were above and beyond the goal of finding the truth, such as shielding crucial pieces of evidence from other board members for fear that such exposure would embarrass and/or infuriate the Kennedy family. (The Warren Commission's failures would fuel conspiracy theories for decades.) The Challenger Commission (or Rogers Commission) could have fallen into the same trap. However, because of the integrity of several of the members of the board, the truth of the Challenger disaster was finally revealed. And as a result, NASA made far-reaching improvements in its shuttle technology. Sadly, the Shuttle Disaster Commission was Feynman's last undertaking which received national attention. Feynman would die of cancer in 1988 at the age of 69.