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Apollo 13

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Apollo 13 (1995)

June. 30,1995
|
7.7
|
PG
| Drama History
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The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.

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Micitype
1995/06/30

Pretty Good

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Spoonatects
1995/07/01

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

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Kien Navarro
1995/07/02

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

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Paynbob
1995/07/03

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

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Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
1995/07/04

Strangely enough, this film is a real story and the story of a phenomenal US defeat in their conquest of the Moon that they turned, in the very heart of a disaster, into a victory, not as for landing on the Moon but as for bringing the three astronauts back home alive. Apart from that, there is little to say or add. The disaster came when a small industrial defect caused a catastrophe with an explosion that destroyed a great part of the oxygen reserve and impaired then the feasibility of the mission. The second lesson is that NASA was totally unprepared to such a situation and they had to improvise with the skills and knowledge they had or were able to mobilize, but especially with the resilience of the three men on board whose lives were at the extreme point of immediate danger.The film insisted on the atmosphere in the two technical teams in Houston and at Kennedy Space Center. It showed how unprepared they were and yet they managed to mobilize all their energies beyond the differences that were theirs, mostly technical differences since some engineers brought up their particular calculations on oxygen on carbon dioxide, on fuel and electricity and some of these figures were dramatic since the spacecraft could not come back home. They had to invent economies, ways to save electricity, oxygen, eliminate carbon dioxide, etc. Engineers generally can only see their own domain of competence and they only consider the proper route to make it work and succeed. So they find it very difficult to imagine defeat, failure, and how to cope with such a perspective. Strangely enough, they can only find their footing in such a situation if they are several people with different skills and if they confront their skills, compete with one another for the common goal of getting it right. The film shows that very well.The families are of course taken care of and the film does not emphasize this side of the story and avoids all the dramatic scenes there must have been and there should have been in real life. But after all, the main point of the film was not the reactions of wives, children, parents, and relatives but clearly enough the human technical exploit.It makes an easy entertainment, especially if you can feel some empathy for the three astronauts, and also for the bureaucrats of science, technology, and politics in such a situation. Nixon was nevertheless sidelined, sidetracked and simply pushed out of the way.Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU

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jimbo-53-186511
1995/07/05

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.

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zucatemm
1995/07/06

This movie might have been about space, but it was the human story that made it. The movie skillfully shifted from space to the control center to the families at home without being melodramatic or glib. Every face had deliberate emotion and Tom Hanks clearly led the way. He stole the show without stealing scenes from other actors which moves him out of the group of good actors to great ones. Kevin Bacon also did well with his character's struggle with being a last minute replacement that wasn't necessarily enthusiastically welcomed. The technical talk was at times pushed into weird conversations as it was necessary but not made interesting enough to pay attention to for long periods which they made up for with the three astronauts struggling with their physical movements in the cramped area trying to save themselves. The audience didn't always understand the specifics of the problems but they were still able to feel the tensions of the moments. Something that really kept me going with the movie was how mission control really embraced only being able to use the materials the astronauts had in solving all the problems. The back and forth between mission control and the astronauts as a result livened up the end that is usually just a bunch of men yelling at computers. As a result of the movie being based on a true story, there were very few opportunities for falsities to exist in the movie. The realism added to everything really allowed the drama of the movie to be fully embraced by the audience. Regardless of having the knowledge of how the movie ends, the audience is still able to ride every emotional wave with the character in the story. My main complaint would have to be that the ending was a bit anticlimactic just because after the climax of the story, there was a drop in emotion that never came back up. My heart stopped beating so fast and there was never a moment that tugged at my heart-strings to cap it all off. Overall, it was truly an incredible movie I would easily recommend to anyone. This is a great introduction into the space genre, especially considering how it was based on a true story.

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calliebartlett
1995/07/07

Apollo 13 captured the absolute courage and strength of not just the families involving the men, the mission control room and America but also the unbelievable bravery of the three on board to try and recover from the explosion and return home from the dark side of the moon alive. Tom Hanks, once again, playing astronaut Jim Lovell, once again took a character and filled the shoes perfectly to make a jaw-dropping and powerfully intense film. He appears to be the clear and commander of not just the capsule but also the movie. The mission was intended to hold Lovell, Mattingly and Haise but the crew hits their first roadblock to walk on the moon when Mattingly was sadly forced off the mission. He was said to have contracted the measles (who, in the end, never ended up getting it). Mattingly was then replaced by Swigert. The excitement in Lovell to walk on the moon was apparent throughout the movie before the launch. So when the oxygen tank in their capsule exploded and the men were forced to end their mission and return home, the heartbreak was felt through the screen and into the audience. The harrowing mission around the dark side of the moon and back home left everyone on the edge of their seats, fearing for the lives of Lovell, Swigert and Haise. The emotion trying to get the three back safely was felt throughout the film and it was as if the audience was in that control room, trying to figure out a way to safely land the men. At the end of the movie, when the three land the capsule in the ocean and are rescued, it was hard not to sigh with relief along with the rest of America. Apollo 13 was told with clear detail that informed but also kept the attention of its audience through adventure and dramatics.

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