Delivered
Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon and Tom Hanks play the astronauts of Apollo 13.
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Apollo 13 (PG, 134 minutes). Directed by Ron Howard *****
“And all science, I don’t understand. It’s just my job five days a week…”
This is how Elton John wrote in this classic song 50 years ago Rocket Man.
He could have described Jim Lovell’s life as portrayed by Tom Hanks in this magnificent 1995 drama based on real life.
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Lovell was a veteran of the US space program in the late 1960s and early 1970s (you know, when they actually visited the moon). He was part of the crew on a number of missions, but it is this April 1970 space journey for which he is most remembered.
In the wake of the successful landings of both the Armstrong and Conrad-led trio, Apollo 13 was considered routine (the networks were even reluctant to show coverage of it), so the pranksters at NASA decided to leave the shuttle at 13: 13 o’clock launch – just to play the superstitious corner.
Unfortunately, the tempting fate turned out to be disastrous, as an early outage not only precluded them from reaching their lunar target, but largely meant that the lives of the three astronauts on board were in significant danger.
As Lovell famously understated when he first noticed something wasn’t right, “Houston, we’ve got a problem!”
That, of course, sparked a media frenzy on Earth — and suddenly America — and the world — were gripped, wondering if the threesome would make it home safely in one piece.
Delivered
Apollo 13 targets not only the men on the mission, but also their families and colleagues on Earth.
Using Lovell’s Book lost moon as a starting point, director Ron Howard very effectively recreates the American space fascination at the time. He shows with wide eyes the wonder with which the country looked at the moon and how quickly they had accepted traveling to and from the moon as a fait accompli.
Taking a very slow approach to the proceedings, Howard pulls the tension off quite brilliantly, never letting it get boring or overly chatty, and making sure the audience remains completely absorbed throughout the over two hours running time.
A fantastic acting ensemble led by the magnificent Hanks helps him immensely in that task. Fresh off his double Oscar triumph with Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, here he once again demonstrates why he was both the biggest box office puller of the time and the most acclaimed actor of his generation. His portrayal of Lovell’s determination and eventual disappointment in fulfilling his dreams feels both full of emotion and seemingly effortless.
The secret sauce of Apollo 13, however, is really the support crew. From Bill Paxton and Kevin Bacon’s fellow astronauts to Gary Sinise’s Ray Mattingly’s Mission Control team, Ed Harris’ Gene Kranz and Kathleen Quinlan as Lovell’s long-suffering wife Marilyn, they all get their moments in the spotlight in William Broyles Jr. and Al. Reinert’s scenario – and grab them with both hands.
Apollo 13 was the first time since the victory of the country’s “space race” that Americans really realized that the human element was involved in reaching the moon. Howard’s film brings that idea to life in a heartbreaking way by focusing not only on the men on the mission, but also on the families and colleagues they left behind.
Apollo 13 is now available to stream on Neon.