A testament to what humans are capable of

Rating: Null/10 (26 July 2003)

This is a truly remarkable film. You could argue that Ron Howard had an easy job, given the source material, but this is so much more than a documentary of what happened to Apollo 13.
These days, men like Dennis Tito can pay to go into space; in two decades or so it may be no more remarkable than flying between continents. This film is a celebration of a different era, and the remarkable individuals that made it happen. Watching the problems the crew are faced with, and the solutions they come up with (with a little help from their friends at Houston) makes me proud to be a human being - that's the effect this film has on me.
Then I think of the layers of bureaucracy and mismanagement that have since come to represent NASA, and I wonder if a similar crew would survive if they faced the same problems today.
The story itself is standard fare - a group of people must overcome technical obstacles and personal differences in order to survive in the face of unlikely odds - but you're never allowed to forget that it all happened for real. The fact that we already know the outcome doesn't reduce the tension - quite the opposite in fact. Because these are real people, the problems they have to deal with, and the emotions they have to go through, matter so much more.
This is a story that everyone should be told. If you get the chance, see it at an IMAX theatre - I've heard it's awesome.