APOLLO 13
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1995 Michael John Legeros
(Universal)
Directed by Ron Howard
Written by William Broyles, Jr. and Al Reinert, based on the
book "Lost Moon" by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger
Cast Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinese,
Ed Harris, Kathleen Quinlan
MPAA Rating "PG"
Running Time 135 minutes
Reviewed at United Artists at Mission Valley, Raleigh (28JUN95)
==
Director Ron Howard makes nice, fuzzy movies like BACKDRAFT and THE PAPER. They're "human" films, with an emphasis on gung-ho over grit. Cast in point: the absorbing APOLLO 13, which recounts the real-life problems of a 1970 moon shot that left three astronauts (played by Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton) stranded in space. Though a bit too much in places, the story of how NASA got its boys back home is some of the best dram you'll likely see this year.
The core story, with its fine acting and great special effects, is the draw here. The characters could be a bit more human, or, at the very least, Paxton could've cried "we're all gonna die, man!" (THE RIGHT STUFF is still a better portrait of these pioneers.) There is one good in-joke: Roger Corman has a cameo as a congressman. If the three guys in the capsule don't have much in the way of personality, said deficiency never gets in the way of the action. The efforts of the NASA guys on the ground (spearheaded by a cool Ed Harris) gives fresh meaning to the idea of "old-fashioned American ingenuity."
The rest of APOLLO 13 is all overdone, of course, with Kathleen Quinlan (as Hanks' astronaut's wife) spending all of her time looking distressed, while James Horner's string-section tries very hard to overpower the DTS Digital sound effects. Sigh.
ITO NOTE: Speaking of O.J., a great, related video pick is CAPRICORN
ONE (1978), the story of a faked Mars mission and the
government conspiracy behind it. Guilty/not-guilty starred
alongside Elliot Gould, James Brolin, Hal Holbrook, Sam
Waterston, and Telly Savalas flying a biplane. Check it
out.
BOTTOM LINE: A blast.
Grade: B+
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