The way to make a film based on true story

Rating: 10/10 (17 July 2013)

Apollo 13
**** (out of 4)
136 mins / PG
Cast: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, Kathleen Quinlan, Mary Kate Schellhardt, Emily Ann Lloyd, Miko Hughes, Max Elliot Slade, Jean Speegle Howard, Chris Ellis, David Andrews, Joe Spano
Director: Ron Howard
Plot: Three astronauts on Apollo 13 must survive and return to Earth after the spacecraft begins to malfunction.
JJ's Verdict: What makes Apollo 13 greater than the majority of the 'based on a true story' is that the film is a true story. It takes very few liberties (only a few lines of dialogue) and in doing so, creates a genuine and realistic tone, which is certain to entertain anyone because each event depicted on screen actually happened.
Apollo 13 is the telling of the true story of three astronauts flying to the moon who are forced to abandon their mission and return to Earth after their spacecraft starts to play up and get rid of the majority of their oxygen supply. The three are forced to go to the most extreme survival techniques as Mission Control desperately attempt to find a way to get the trio back home before it is too late.
When watching Apollo 13, the film manages to wipe your mind of any previous opinions you had on whether you believe the story of the moon landings or not. When you are there in that moment watching it, you believe everything the film presents to you. You believe the 1969 moon landings and you believe that the failed Apollo 12 and 13 missions happened by accident; not intentionally sabotaged by the U.S government. It makes you want to find out about the mission itself and the people involved. It is only strong filmmaking that can do both of these to the viewer.
From the moment Tom Hanks utters those now immortal lines "Houston, we have a problem", Apollo 13 is no longer about a space mission. It is about the strength of humans and their will to survive when all seems lost and the worst might still be to come. It is about reflection on what could have been. If they had actually reached the moon.
The special effects are so subtle and real that you rarely notice them and you become engrossed in the crew's epic survival; not a special effects frenzy. If modern blockbusters did this then I am sure we would realise how shockingly horrendous they actually are as the wooden acting and poor dialogue and story would have nothing to hide behind. Today special effects are just there to disguise the film's weak points but in Apollo 13, Ron Howard doesn't even want or expects us to look at the special effects. Just the engrossing drama on centre-screen. This isn't to say special effects are bad. The Star Wars and Terminator are films are among my favourite. I just wish we could have more character dramas like Apollo 13 appealing to a mainstream audience and smashing box-offices records, not just effect driven sequels and spin-offs.
Not only does it have brilliant filmmakers but also, Apollo 13 is blessed with five of the best actors of their generation taking lead roles. Tom Hanks is Jim Lovell, all-American hero who ultimate goal is to reach the moon, Kevin Bacon is Jack Swigert, womanising charmer who is pulled in to Apollo 13 late, Bill Paxton is Fred Haise, arrogant on the outside but weak in the inside, Gary Sinise is ken Mattingly, lonely and insecure who is forced to abandon space program after getting the 'measles' and Ed Harris is Flight Director Gene Kranz, demanding of his co- workers and calmingly confident. Hanks, Bacon and Paxton all bring their own acting style to the equation and are all equally charming at the start but scared and worried at the end. Gary Sinise is perfectly cast a Mattingly who ended up having to give up his place on the mission. Sinise captures his characters loneliness and reluctance to accept his fate. Ed Harris' Gene Kranz is strong-minded and full-on and in doing so gives us an endlessly quotable character with lines like 'We've never lost an American in space, we're sure as hell not gonna lose one on my watch! Failure is not an option' and I don't care about what anything was designed to do, I care about what it can do.' Harris was in fact nominated for an Oscar for his role and would have won had it not been for Kevin Spacey's haunting performance in Bryan Singer's The Usual Suspects.
Apollo 13 is masterpiece of acting, design and storytelling. Almost all the dialogue is unaltered from actual events as are each and every scene. Ron Howard's masterpiece will leave you sweating in hope, despair and expectation. You'll question how they actually survived, but Apollo 13 happened and what better way to remember it than make a truly magnificent film about it. In fact, Apollo 13 isn't about the events but is the events. A magnificent achievement from everyone involved.