Apollo 13 (1995)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Jim Lovell	Tom Hanks	½
Fred Haise	Bill Paxton	½
Jack Swigert	Kevin Bacon	½
Ken Mattingly	Gary Sinise	½
Gene Kranz	Ed Harris	½
Marilyn Lovell	Kathleen Quinlan	½
Barbara Lovell	Mary Kate Schellhardt	-
Susan Lovell	Emily Ann Lloyd	-
Jeffrey Lovell	Miko Hughes	-
NASA Director	Joe Spano	-
Henry Hurt	Xander Berkeley	½
Glynn Lunney	Marc McClure	-
Sy Liebergot - EECOM White	Clint Howard	½
John Aaron - EECOM Arthur	Loren Dean	-
Jerry Bostick - FIDO White	Ray McKinnon	-
CAPCOM 1	Brett Cullen	½
Jeffrey Lovell	Miko Hughes	-

Review

Ron Howard's big-budget epic Apollo 13 is a celebration – almost deification – of NASA's early lunar travels. But hey, their achievements were among humanity's most remarkable, and certainly worth commemorating. There's no hiding Howard's nostalgia here, however, and while that creates a little distance to the human drama unfolding, it also gives the film a wonderful look and feel. It's almost as if you can smell the 1970s cigarette smoke, feel the wallpapers in the Lovells' house, and believe your own false memories (and cinematographer Dean Cundey's conception) of how every colour was warmer back then. This framework is the basis for Howard's storytelling, which is classically structured within the biopic formula, meaning that every element, from character presentation, build-up, bumps in the road and so on, are a little too neatly laid out for us. The picture does all the thinking for you. You just have to come along for the ride. But it's a fascinating ride which presents its technical aspects with aptitude and without insulting your intelligence. You may not be quite as emotionally invested as Howard would have hoped for, but he is certainly able to captivate with the story's intrinsic momentousness. The star-studded cast all do well, although this is not set up to be their parade. Based on Jim Lowell's own book "Lost Moon".