Apollo 13 (1995)

Directed by Ron Howard and headlined by Tom Hanks, this film opens with the landing of Neil Armstrong on the moon. It then leads up to the Apollo 13 mission led by Jim Lovell (Hanks). We see his life, his colleagues, and the hard work that goes into such an undertaking. There are several hitches in preparation but the takeoff is smooth, beginning a supposedly routine mission. However, after a malfunction the situation turns dire very fast and the men who looked forward to walking on the moon now must struggle just to get home. They make difficult decisions and Lovell keeps them level-headed while Houston scrambles to problem solve and bring them home. This film is powerful and ultimately cheering with a good accompanying score. Howard does a wonderful job transporting us back to that time however I would have liked more back story on the astronauts leading up to their mission.

It seems only fitting that I would see this movie for the first time the same day that Neil Armstrong passed away. This film certainly would not be the same with out him because even though he did not play a major role, he impacted space exploration forever.

4/5 Stars