An outstanding human achievement (a few spoilers)

Rating: 10/10 (13 March 2004)

I was drawn to this film when it came out because of my interest in astronomy and space. While I recognize the enormous achievement in even sending people to the vicinity of the moon-- much less landing on the moon and returning home several times-- I was too young to remember the feelings of awe and excitement that must have accompanied the moon landings.
In a way it is sad that the one unsuccessful Apollo mission would be the one made into a hit movie-- but the movie brought out such a range of emotions (like most good movies do, in my opinion): a child's curiosity, the overwhelming excitement mixed with apprehension and fear of the adults, and the way public apathy suddenly gave way to intense interest. For those of us who were too young to remember, the movie gives a good brief introduction into the culture and politics of the day. But the thing that struck me the most was the primitive state of technology that brought men to within inches of the moon in that day: I have to say the shots of calculations being done by slide rule and pencil and paper nearly brought me to tears.
10/10