Five out of ten for "Apollo 13"

Rating: 4/10 (21 January 2003)

Despite occasional flashes of great drama and decent performances from Hanks, Sinise, Harris, and others, "Apollo 13" is all too often trapped in a sterile form that is difficult to become involved with. The film follows the real-life events of three astronauts shot into space on the title craft, its destination the moon, but trouble with the craft gives them other plans. Although the chemistry of Paxton, Hanks, and Bacon is useful, the main problem is that the viewer becomes lost within a dialogue full of space craft-NASA mumbo jumbo. Definitely no fun watching astronauts babble on about things which we have no idea what they are. Nonetheless, "Apollo 13" still has some memorable effects and a cast that wasn't entirely wasted.