Apollo 13

Rating: 8/10 (3 April 2017)

Apollo 13 captured the absolute courage and strength of not just the families involving the men, the mission control room and America but also the unbelievable bravery of the three on board to try and recover from the explosion and return home from the dark side of the moon alive.
Tom Hanks, once again, playing astronaut Jim Lovell, once again took a character and filled the shoes perfectly to make a jaw-dropping and powerfully intense film. He appears to be the clear and commander of not just the capsule but also the movie.
The mission was intended to hold Lovell, Mattingly and Haise but the crew hits their first roadblock to walk on the moon when Mattingly was sadly forced off the mission. He was said to have contracted the measles (who, in the end, never ended up getting it). Mattingly was then replaced by Swigert.
The excitement in Lovell to walk on the moon was apparent throughout the movie before the launch. So when the oxygen tank in their capsule exploded and the men were forced to end their mission and return home, the heartbreak was felt through the screen and into the audience. The harrowing mission around the dark side of the moon and back home left everyone on the edge of their seats, fearing for the lives of Lovell, Swigert and Haise. The emotion trying to get the three back safely was felt throughout the film and it was as if the audience was in that control room, trying to figure out a way to safely land the men. At the end of the movie, when the three land the capsule in the ocean and are rescued, it was hard not to sigh with relief along with the rest of America.
Apollo 13 was told with clear detail that informed but also kept the attention of its audience through adventure and dramatics.