Apollo 13

Staring: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Ed Harris, Gary Sinise

Review by The Ranting WolfCastle

    I usually don't like movies that are based on true stories.   Especially when the film is about something that I actually know about.  I knew about the Apollo 13 mission, and that they made it back alive, so what's the point in watching the movie?  But my friend put it nicely when he said, "They try their best to make you forget how it turns out."  He has a good point there, "Apollo 13" tries to make you think that maybe they won't make it back alive, and it does a pretty good job.

    Basically everyone knows the story, three astronauts are sent up to the moon, but before they get there, they have problems and have to turn around.   Most of the movie is the different problems that they go through in order to make it back to earth alive.

    There is pretty much nothing wrong with this movie.  The acting is perfect, which is to be expected with this kind of cast, and the story is good, but it's a true one so that's kind of beside the point.  Movies like this are trying to watch, because they make you nervous, they basically abide by Murphy's Law- if something can go wrong it will.  Which leads to anxiety on behalf of the viewer.  I guess it's such a good movie, because even though you know what's going to happen, you think maybe this time it will change.  The only thing that distracted from my viewing pleasure, is that the fine people at Blockbuster Video here in Fort Collins, Colorado decided to but the widescreen version behind the formatted box.  My television isn't big enough to pull that off, so the whole time I had to watch it on half of my screen, what a waste.  Also, we kept getting phone calls, so I had to constantly go answer it, and of course it wasn't for me.  It never is.  But I can't really blame that on the makers of "Apollo 13" can I?

        Just to throw caution to the wind, this isn't the type of movie you can watch over and over again, I've only seen it twice since it was in theatres in '95.  So if you're thinking of buying it, maybe you should rent it a couple of times and see how much you really like it.  It's a "Blockbuster Favorite" so apparently you can return it and get you money back if you don't "love" it.  So even if you do, tell 'em you don't and I guess they have to give you a coupon or something.  Suckers.  Another thing about the reviewability of this film, is it's pretty long, at two hours and twenty minutes, I know I probably won't watch it again for a very long time.  But if you need a good study break, or what have you, it's a pretty good excuse.

    Well, I've got to go study for finals now, you should feel privileged that I took time out of my grueling studying schedule to let you know what I thought about what is probably called a classic.  Aren't I the best person in the world?

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