this is quite possibly my #1 movie

Rating: 10/10 (11 September 2018)

I write this as Apollo 13 is on TV right now for about the third time this week. I've been a fan of Apollo 13 since this movie came out. This movie came out when I was five years old and was my first exposure to the world of the amazing Tom Hanks. I absolutely adore this movie. I dressed up as one of the astronauts as a kid in elementary school. Ron Howard's Apollo 13, to me, is simply a masterpiece. This is truly captivating film from beginning to end that tells the real-life tale of the Apollo 13 disaster. Everything about it just feels so authentic. Not just the amazing attention to detail with the spacecraft's and mission control. But to the acting and characters. The late Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Ed Harris, and even Clint Howard, everyone was so perfectly cast in this movie. True, grade-A acting from the whole cast. You really feel connected to all the characters on an emotional level.
Ron Howard did his best work here. Everything about this movie and the directing and editing is perfectly executed. At no time to things ever feel like they drag on. Scenes are always appropriately cut between the drama of the spacecraft and the drama of Jim Lovell's family. We get a true sense of teamwork between the astronauts and mission control as they desperately work to solve each problem the dying spacecraft is having.
I also commend the unforgettable soundtrack. From the uplifting main theme song to the dramatic moments of watching the CO2 meter go down, the soundtrack just perfectly compliments this film. Not just that, but the mix, appropriately hearing the sirens and alarms going off when things go haywire on the spacecraft.
I just... I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this movie. I've watched this movie a thousand times in the past 20~ years and every time I watch it it feels like I'm watching it for the first time. My eyes are just constantly glued to the TV when it's on.
I think I can say that this is quite possibly my favorite movie of all time. I own it on blu-ray. I've never not liked it. It's stood the test of time to me. It still looks great today. It's a good run time. It's not bloated with CGI like the films of the 2000's. It's just a telling tale about this real-life scenario of three astronauts nearly losing their lives on a mission to the moon. Whether you are a fan of space films or not, this is a must-watch if you have not seen it.