Unforgettable real life drama of astronaut heroes

Rating: 8/10 (28 March 2006)

My whole family really enjoyed this film and especially, in contrast to some viewers, its more technical aspects. This entire flight was a topic I knew very little about (though I was probably a teenager at the time), so found it both an informative and gripping drama.
It chronicles the ill adventures of Apollo 13, NASA's third planned lunar landing, which at the time had become routine and failed to capture the public's attention. The flight runs into potentially fatal problems when an oxygen tank explodes, precluding the planned moon landing, and the intelligent, highly stressed astronauts (as well as the Houston control team) must use all their skill, creativity, and ingenuity to avert disaster and ensure a safe return to earth.
The cast does a magnificent job in recreating the three astronauts, their camaraderie and determined efforts... flight commander, Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Fred Haise (Bill Paxton), and replacement astronaut, Jack Swiger (Kevin Bacon), and also the Houston mission control director (Ed Harris). The film captures the disappointment of crew members (especially Lovell) in being denied their exciting moon landing, so long anticipated and trained for, and also portrays the effects of this potential tragedy on their families, particularly Lovell's devoted wife, Marilyn (Kathleen Quinlan).
I have little knowledge of the historical accuracy or personal lives of the astronauts aboard this Apollo flight. Some have claimed that the personalities of some of the crew have been altered; if so, I would not approve. Although based on fact with a lot of attention to technical detail, it should, nevertheless, probably be regarded as a Hollywood production, and not necessarily a documentary.
Even though we know in advance the outcome, it still has a riveting plot to keep viewers glued to their seats. The movie is especially a testament to the dangers inherent in space flight even to this very day, the training and courage of astronauts, and the anxiety that must be experienced by their families, especially when something goes amiss during the flight. Personally, I found The Right Stuff just a wee bit dull, but rate very highly this movie that put the phrase 'Houston, we have a problem' into our everyday vocabulary.