A fabulous movie that relates a true story

Rating: 10/10 (8 March 1999)

Apollo 13 is exciting each time I watch it. Each piece of the movie contributes to make a riveting story even with the known ending. Effects are breathtaking (all of the launch scenes, for example, are computer-generated since the stock footage was all unacceptable).
Best of all, the movie is historically accurate. Granted, Howard took some license, but not much. The biggest difference is that the astronauts on the historical mission fired the engine several short times manually while the movie version packed all the excitement into one firing. Other differences amount to minutia. For example, the historical record shows that they played "Blue Danube", as opposed to the movie's "Spirit in the Sky", at the beginning of the real TV broadcast. At other times, the details are real. Marion Lovell actually did loose her wedding ring in the shower!
Acting in the movie is superb. You feel the frustration when Mattingly has to stay home with measles. You feel the excitement when Swigert gets to go in his place. You feel Marian Lovell's stress when she doesn't know what's going to happen to her husband. You feel the cold, uncertainty, and dependence on ground support on the return trip. You feel a part of the team called NASA that ultimately brought the astronauts home.
Overall, Apollo 13 is a magnificent movie - well worth watching time and again.