Apollo 13

Apollo 13 is a real life space drama. The film is based on actual events that happened during the mission to the moon of the same name in 1970. It was directed by Ron Howard and stars Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Kathleen Quinlan and Ed Harris.

The film was a huge box office hit and received much well earned critical praise. This is in no small part due to the amazing technical accuracy, which just goes to show that real life can be much more dramatic and thrilling than made up Hollywood-esque stories. Howard kept very faithful to the real events and the film is more brilliant for it. There is no sense that you have to suspend your belief to enjoy the story because it is actual true.

The immense popularity of the film is also attributable to the extraordinary acting by the leads especial Hanks and Harris. The tension in the command module between the three astronauts is clear and you know that they are thinking ‘so this is it we are going to die’.

Less than a year after Armstrong’s historic first step on the moon in Apollo 11, Apollo 13 is scheduled to repeat the trip. Preparations are made and the three man crew take off on a seemingly text book mission. However, half way to the moon there is an explosion and the men are left drifting in space. with the moon landing cancelled the team at Houston now have to find a way to keep the men alive and get them back home in one piece.

Cinema release 1995

Certificate PG

Available on DVD and Blue Ray