Brilliant cast, masterful direction, and an excellent movie.

Rating: 9/10 (8 August 2016)

When I first rented Apollo 13 on VHS 20 years ago I found myself to be easily distracted and my interest seemed to waver throughout the movie. I don't know why but that's just the way it happened. Fast forward to 20 years later and I made the right decision to hire out Apollo 13 on Blu-ray. Apollo 13 was a fantastic experience from start to finish and I gained a greater appreciation of the movie. Apart from the fact it was based on true events, you couldn't go wrong with a brilliant cast with the likes of Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise and Ed Harris. On top of that, the masterful Ron Howard has added another excellent movie to his stellar career.
Following the success of Apollo 11 in which in a landmark event in history Neil Armstrong became the first man in history to step foot on the moon on 20 July, 1969, the titular Apollo 13 is destined to be the third lunar landing mission on the moon. The following year astronauts Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon), and Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) are picked to be the crew members of Apollo 13 for a seemingly routine mission to the moon. Things go awry when an on-board explosion deprives their spacecraft of most of its oxygen supply and electric power. Lovell's message to ground control changes everything when he announces the immortal words, "Houston, we have a problem". NASA's ground crew led by the no-nonsense Gene Krantz (Ed Harris) orders Apollo 13 to abort the Moon landing and along with original crew member Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise) who was sidelined on medical grounds, spearheads the operation for the safe return of the three men back to Earth.
Everything about Apollo 13 was excellent. Tom Hanks, riding high from the success of Forrest Gump (1994), is faultless as Jim Lovell. Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, Bill Paxton and Ed Harris (who received a well deserved Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor) are also perfectly cast in their respective roles.
The late James Horner's score was beautifully done throughout the movie and fit in neatly. I found myself getting goosebumps from the opening score.
Ron Howard who has come a long way from his days as Ritchie Cunningham from the TV series Happy Days has carved himself a brilliant career as a director. His attention to detail throughout his movies as well as his love of depicting historical events is a perfect fit for Apollo 13 and Ron Howard has done a superb job as a director.
Apollo 13 was met with widespread critical acclaim as well as becoming one of the biggest box office hits of 1995. It is still deserving of its praise and I have grown very fond of Apollo 13. With a brilliant cast led by Tom Hanks, the masterful direction of Ron Howard, and a gripping story based on true events, Apollo 13 is still an excellent movie.
9/10.