Apollo 13 (1995) 20th Anniversary In-Depth Movie Review

There is a VIDEO VERSION of this review HERE

“Apollo 13” is directed by Ron Howard and it stars Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton and Kevin Bacon as the three astronauts that in April of 1970 struggled to survive and return home safely after an explosion during the Apollo 13 mission to the moon.

Times flies. It’s already been 20 years since I first saw this film in the theatres. I watched it again yesterday and I loved every second of it. It hasn’t dated at all. It remains a remarkable film. 

This depiction of the real life drama of the Apollo 13 mission is the perfect homage to the hundreds of man and the women at NASA that worked to get those three men back to Earth safely. Even when things seemed hopeless they never gave up and as Gene Kranz, Ed Harris’s character says at the end it was one of NASA’s finest hours indeed.

The film is a must if you haven’t seen it. Even if you know how it ends it still provides a wonderful and emotional experience. Ron Howard is in great form and he treats the material with enormous attention to detail always staying true to the actual events and constantly paying tribute to the geniuses that helped prevent a disaster from happening.

“Apollo 13” has a running time of 2 hours and 19 minutes and every single time I see this film I’m sad when it’s over. Those 2 hours seem more like 20 minutes.  It’s a film that grabs and pulls you into it very early on and you just want to stay there with these characters. The pacing is perfect and the script is extremely well structured. In my view you have a great story arch working to perfection but you also have a beautiful character arch with Jim Lovell played by Tom Hanks. The B story of Apollo 13, mostly centered around Jim Lovell’s wife Marilyn played by Kathleen Quinlan is the heart and soul of the film. The drama being experienced back on Earth through Marilyn’s eyes bridges the action to the drama of this film masterfully. We all want these guys to get back home safely but we especially want Marilyn Lovell to see her husband again. I can’t stress how much this husband and wife connection makes Apollo 13 that much better.

The dynamic between the three astronauts is mostly of a professional nature but naturally becomes more emotional and tense as the story progresses. Jim Lovell has to be a true leader to keep the spirits up and the focus where it needs to be but he also has to deal with his personal frustration of not being able to walk on the moon. It’s heartbreaking to see Lovell accept that his dream is lost but it’s also inspiring to see him lead his crew back to safety.

Back on earth you see the team at NASA also overcoming obstacles, remaining professional and focused but also dealing with pressure and emotion as time goes by. This is mostly encapsulated in Gene Kranz, Ed Harris’s character. It’s wonderfully to see him at the end decompressing his emotions subtly when the astronauts are finally safe. Ed Harris provides an exceptional performance.

I think it’s fair to say that the characters in this film are extremely well developed, maybe because it’s a portrayal of real people… but not just that; Even with great source material like this, real life events, you still need to be very good at what you do to pull it off so brilliantly. I’m talking about writing, directing and acting at very high standards.

As you can probably tell I think the performances of this film are perfect. Of course Tom Hanks does a tremendous job with his leading role. His performance makes the film that much more believable and relatable and his chemistry with Kathleen Quinlan is gripping. Considering they only share a few scenes together you always get the feeling that they are close the entire film. Of course merits also go to Kathleen Quinlan for achieving this. She delivers an extremely powerful and solid performance. Great match.

Bill Paxton and Kevin Bacon play the other two astronauts along for the ride. Fred Haise and Jack Swigert respectively. Bill Paxton is an underrated actor in my view. We mostly know him for great supporting roles but I always go back to Sam Raimi’s “A Simple Plan” when I think about him. He does a great job in that film and I think he has a lot to give as an actor. Kevin Bacon is no exception in terms of quality in this film. He is an established actor and his contribution to “Apollo 13” goes right up there next to other countless amazing and solid performances through out his diverse career. He’s Kevin Bacon. Nothing to add there.

Also noteworthy are Ed Harris and Gary Sinise. The two main characters back at NASA. As I mentioned before Ed Harris delivers an amazing performance and he is mesmerizing to watch. Gary Sinise is an actor I love. Apart from “Forrest Gump”, one of the films I love to watch him in is “Ransom” also directed by Ron Howard. He’s such a versatile actor and in this film playing Ken Mattingly he proves that once again. Watch “Apollo 13” and “Ransom” back to back and you’ll see how great he really is.

Ron Howard is a very effective director. His films usually work and leave you satisfied. “Apollo 13” is no exception, in fact, it’s one of his finest achievements. Some scenes inside the spacecraft were shot in actual zero gravity using a reduced gravity aircraft. A hollowed-out, windowless, padded Boeing 707 jet that climbs to 30.000ft and then arcs into a steep dive, creating a 23 second period of weightlessness. Of course only compositions that had the actors entire body floating in frame were shot using this method otherwise it would have taken ages and lot more resources to complete. The medium close-ups and close-ups were done in a soundstage. The final illusion was achieved with smooth editing and miming by the actors to simulate weightlessness when it wasn’t there. Movie magic at your service. Ron Howard is a great storyteller and I love how he makes an effort for the audience to always care about the characters. There aren’t any two dimensional characters in his films. They are always very strong and structured be it the hero or the villain. He’s a maestro of emotions and he hits you before you even know something was coming.

The music of “Apollo 13” cannot go unmentioned. James Horner writes one of the best scores of his career. The music is absolutely beautiful. The action cues are great and the emotional ones are phenomenal to say the least. The fantastic launch set piece and the breathtaking end credits cue are just a couple examples of great film music working beautifully to tell a story. It’s a memorable score and a must to any soundtrack lover out there.

And here we are 20 years later looking back at such a great film. I watched “Apollo 13” when I was only 15 and nothing changed from that first screening to yesterday when I was sitting at home. It’s an emotional roller-coaster. It’s excellent filmmaking and an absolute must for everyone.

“We are go for launch!”