Mini Film Review – Apollo 13

Recently I have re-watched Apollo 13; and it’s pretty brilliant! Directed by Ron Howard, and starring Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Bacon; Apollo 13 is a docudrama about the Apollo 13 space mission. I first saw this film about 20 years ago, and recently (having barely seen a clip of this film for twenty years), have watched it about six times over the last five/six months on TV. It’s a really dramatic film from the get-go, as it plants seeds of drama that begin to flower within minutes of planting. It creates small moments that really grip you as you begin to feel for characters like Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise). These then take a back seat as things in space fly out of control, and the tension ramps up as it feels like things are bound to get worse! Even if you have seen this film so much so recently, and know what is going to happen, it’s superb action and direction, will always make you second guess the outcome. The soundtrack is infectious, the supporting cast are superb, and the scenes of awe and wonder, are well…just that. Really superb film, well worth waiting to see again after two decades!