"With all due respect, sir, I believe this is gonna be our finest hour."

Rating: 9/10 (8 September 2016)

I was a teenager when "Apollo 13" was released and had never known of this story. Neil Armstrong, The Challenger, sure, but not this particular doomed mission. But Hollywood's version of the events is probably the most American movie I've ever seen - not just those willing to hurl themselves out into the black, but those on the ground forced to bring them home (that's right, it's an engineering movie; the nerds are behind the wheel).
And as a movie, it's a pretty great ride, going from adventurous space travel to unity in the face of disaster. Ron Howard knows how to maximize emotional impact, and it comes when you least expect it. There's genuine melancholy when the astronauts are denied their landing on the moon - and as dangerous as their predicament is, the real drama happens in the control room. That's saying something with a big effects movie like this. And as much as I like Tom Hanks (and this is a fine cast, right down the line), this really belongs to Gary Sinise and Ed Harris in supporting roles. And Harris has one of my very favorite lines in cinema:
"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."
I dunno how accurate it is, but this film - on its own terms - is a tribute to American know-how. I know how clichéd that sounds, but . . . that about sums it up.
9/10