Failure is not an option

Rating: Null/10 (22 January 2005)

The story of American race to the Moon is incomparable. At first it was a try to catch up with the Soviets, after that pass them. JFK knew well what he did. He wanted to settle that the democracy is superior to communism. He proved it also in outer space. One of Nasa achievements was saving lives of the crew of Apollo 13. And this is the story. Due to incompetence and neglect the crew of Apollo 1 died during a routine count down. Due to the human intelligence and good fortune Jim Lovell and his crew returned safely home. The movie is excellent. There are technical flaws of course but most of them are covered by live Lovell's commentary. And the story is about how every human being, sometimes against all odds, can survive activating the human will of survival and powers of our mind. The visual effects are of minor importance here. It's the actors, their faces, tone of their voices, their moves tell us the story. They did well. After I read Lovell's 'Lost Moon' and Kranz's 'Failure is Not an Option' /which quote was spitefully used on the NYT after the tragedy of Columbia/ I liked the movie even more. Dust in the wind we are. Such achievements like the conquest of the cosmos give our lives a bit of meaning, due to possible harvesting the assets by our children. Apollo 13 is a kind of record of such heroic efforts. Worth watching and thinking about.