Thirteen Days: 147 minutes of a gruesome Kevin Costner accent

Rating: Null/10 (6 February 2006)

The movie Thirteen Days gives an excellent historical portrayal of the fear and horror of a nuclear war experienced by the United States and the world in the Cuban Missile Crisis. The movie's historical facts are close to accurate, following even small details concerning President Kennedy and his relationships with his administrators. Naturally, some of the flourishes and embellishments of the movie were used to create more "Hollywood" extravagance and add excitement. Also, the character Kenny O'Donnell is fictional, yet seemed essential to the plot of the movie as a character that tied many pieces simultaneously. The movie pastes together the meanings of the decisions and actions that took place during the tense 13 days. It thoroughly demonstrates step by step the thought process and crucial decision-makings that decided the fate of our country. Thirteen Days truly depicts the real national fear installed by the Crisis, and how close our country came to nuclear war and losing millions of lives. In order for a historical drama to be successful, actors must be able to not only resemble the well known characters they play, but they must have the ability to capture the "natural" character of these people and prove it to the audience. The movie did an excellent job in portraying the strong character of JFK, and his resilience to do what he believed was right. Greenwood plays the young Kennedy as an unsure, worried president in the beginning that later blossoms into a confident leader. The movie depicted the tension between Kennedy and several of his advisers with brutal honesty, and showed that Kennedy was not always popular with the political and military leaders of that time. He had to fight the Russians and some of his own staff as well! However, the movie showed the bravery of his cabinet, and our leaders' ability to guide our country through a time of peril. Although the movie had many excellent historical performances, there were several weak spots. I'm normally a Kevin Costner fan, but I was appalled by his atrocious accent. Also, what was the point of the certain scenes filmed in black and white? To stress importance, or was it solely for tasteless aesthetic values? Another improvement could be seen in the bias of the movie. The movie gave an excellent portrayal of the Cuban Missile Crisis from an American's point of view, yet, as an American, I would love to see the vantage point from the Cuban and Soviet side. However, aside from these few not so significant setbacks, I would recommend this movie for any history buff or die-hard patriot, or simply anyone interested in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Yet Kevin Costner fans beware: this performance rivals his in Water world.