APOLLO 13
A film review by Ed Powell
Copyright 1995 Ed Powell
All I could think of during the movie was the film MAROONED (starring Gregory Peck & Gene Hackman), and how APOLLO 13 was so much better than it.
The story of APOLLO 13 isn't fiction ... it is a dramatic recreation of the actual situation that happened during the Apollo 13 mission to the moon. During the flight to the moon, one of the oxygen tanks on the command module exploded, causing massive system failures. It was on luck and ingenuity alone that the crew of the Apollo 13 mission made it back to Earth alive.
I cannot comment on the story and plot of this film. It was so incredible, that it could not have come from anywhere but real life. The writing also falls under this description, except that there were some moments that seemed a bit false ... a little artificial. The film, though, was filled with drama, emotion, and moments of comedy. An excellent script.
There cannot be enough praise for the actors. Although I cannot really name names at the moment (my local paper doesn't have an ad for the film in it), all were quite convincing in their roles.
Design of the film was consistent with the time period, that being the late 60s/early 70s. A couple of items, however, seemed to be a bit too modern for the time period. The computer text on the screen at Mission Control looked like they came off of an off-the-shelf IBM PS/2, and a few of the controls on the space vehicles looked like they came from the modern-day Space Shuttle. Then again, I am not an expert on space vehicles ... all of this could have been 100% accurate.
There were quite a few visual effects in the film, all of which looked very realistic. Tom Hank's character's daydream of walking on the moon looked as if they actually went to the moon and filmed the scene. All the zero-gee effects were realistic ... because they were actually in zero gravity! They filmed those scenes inside of the training airplane lovingly known as the "Vomit Comet," where the plane goes up to about 35,000 feet and then dives, giving up to 30 seconds of near zero gravity conditions inside the plane. Very well thought out, very well executed.
Ron Howard did a splendid job of directing this film. My only complaint is that there were just a few too many fancy camera moves ... I felt at times I was going to be sick with all the tilts, pans, and zooms the camera was doing.
The music for the film was absolutely PERFECT! From opening credits to the end of the film, the music evoked the right emotions and the right times. Even I, ol' Joey "Stoneheart" Lemur, was brought to tears at times (all quickly blinked back, of course.)
This film contained strong language at times, and was quite emotional. You might want to think twice before bringing children under thirteen to see this film. Teens and older will thoroughly enjoy this film, though.
I cannot recommend this film enough. This will probably win Best Picture at this year's Oscars. It is a stunning film, filled with nail-biting tension and peppered with lighter moments. Go. See it. You'll be glad you did! :-)
Produced by Brian Grazer, directed by Ron Howard. A Universal Pictures release.
RATINGS (out of ten)
--------------------
Plot/Story: 10
Writing: 9
Acting: 8
Design: 7
Effects: 9
Direction: 9
Family Value: 7
Music: 10
TOTAL: 69 out of 80 (Overall: 8.625)
-- Ed Powell, MSTie #27968
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