APOLLO 13
A film review by Lewis Butler
Copyright 1995 Lewis Butler
In short: Another nomination for Tom Hanks? Almost certainly.
Another win? Well ... it could happen. Go see it.
(+3.0 of -4 to +4 [0 = avg])
I can't help thinking of THE RIGHT STUFF when I start talking about APOLLO 13, obviously the movies cover the same basic topic; America's space program. While THE RIGHT STUFF focused on the romance and action and adventure and heroism, APOLLO 13 takes a different tack. THE RIGHT STUFF was an epic movie about a period of recent history, APOLLO 13 is a smaller film in that sense, dealing only with the events surrounding the near-fatal accident that was APOLLO 13.
I haven't read LOST MOON, the book the film is based on, and I'm just young enough that I don't remember the coverage first hand; so this was all pretty much news to me. The story, however, is gripping. Fantastic. Awe-inspiring. All those adjectives that are overused so often finally have something worthy of their use.
Ron Howard directs a finely crafted film, carefully staging at each step of the way so that the audience is instantly involved in the action. The inclusion of news footage from the time (Walter Cronkite in horrid neon-esque colors!) serves to make the film almost a documentary.
The performers are all first rate, and I do mean all. From Hanks himself to the Will Wheaton look-a-like playing his son (sorry, I missed the name, would not be at all surprised if he was WW's younger brother, the resemblance to Wesley Crusher from "Next Generation"'s first season is uncanny). Gary Sinise and Kevin Bacon stand out in my mind especially, and Ed Harris, of course, is in his element.
What most surprised me is that even though I knew exactly how the crisis turned out, there was a constant edge of suspense. A remarkable achievement, I think. I could hear the audience breath a collective sigh of relief, right along with the crew at Mission Control.
This movie has to be the early favorite for Best Picture, Best Director, and certainly Best visual effects. No, they're not as spectacular as RETURN OF THE JEDI, but ILM had to recreate a *real* environment, a rather more difficult task. As far as a three-peat from Mr. Hanks? Well, if he doesn't get it it won't be from any failing in this performance. I wonder what Mr. Lovell thought?
-- kreme@netcom.com PGP Fingerprint \ 1D 5E F7 C8 7E C2 F9 87 0F 86 C9 B0 D2 63 9C B2 303/722-2009
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