Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon and Tom Hanks play the astronauts of Apollo 13.
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Apollo 13 (PG, 134 mins). Directed by Ron Howard *****
“And all the science, I don’t understand. It’s just my job five days a week…”
So wrote Elton John 50 years ago in this classic song Rocket Man.
He could have been describing the life of Jim Lovell – as portrayed by Tom Hanks in this magnificent 1995 based-on-real-life drama.
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Lovell was a veteran of the US space programme in the late 1960s and early ’70s (you know – when they actually visited the Moon). He was part of the crew on a number of missions, but it is this April 1970 space trip for which he is most remembered.
Coming in the wake of both the Armstrong and Conrad-led trio’s successful landings, Apollo 13 was considered routine (the networks were even reluctant to show coverage of it), so the wags at Nasa decided to launch the shuttle at 13:13 – just to play up the superstitious angle.
Unfortunately, tempting fate proved to be disastrous, as an early malfunction not only ruled out them reaching their lunar goal, but very much meant the lives of the three astronauts onboard were at significant risk.
As Lovell famously understated, when first noticing something was amiss: “Houston, we have a problem!”
That, of course, created a media frenzy back on Earth – and suddenly, America – and the world – were gripped, wondering if the threesome were going to make it safely home in one piece.
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Apollo 13 not only focuses on the men on the mission, but their families and colleagues back on Earth.
Using Lovell’s book Lost Moon as a lifting-off point, director Ron Howard very effectively recreates the US’ space fascination of the time. He displays the wide-eyed wonder with which the country viewing the Moon and how quickly they had accepted travel to and from it as a fait accompli.
Taking very much a slow-burner approach to proceedings, Howard draws the tension out quite brilliantly, never allowing it to become dull or overly talky, and ensuring the audience remains completely absorbed throughout the more-than-two-hour running-time.
Helping him greatly in that task is a fabulous acting ensemble led by the magnificent Hanks. Fresh from his double-Oscar triumph with Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, he again demonstrates here why he was both the biggest box-office draw of the time and most acclaimed actor of his generation. His portrayal of Lovell’s determination and ultimate disappointment in fulfilling his dreams, feels both full of emotion and seemingly effortless.
However, Apollo 13’s secret sauce is really the support crew. From Bill Paxton and Kevin Bacon’s fellow astronauts to the Mission Control team of Gary Sinise’s Ray Mattingly, Ed Harris’ Gene Kranz and Kathleen Quinlan as Lovell’s long-suffering wife Marilyn, they all get their moments in the spotlight within William Broyles Jr and Al Reinert’s screenplay – and grab them with both hands.
Apollo 13 was the first time since the country’s “space race” victory that Americans truly realised the human element involved in reaching for the moon. Howard’s movie heartrendingly brings that idea to life by focusing not only the men on the mission, but the families and colleagues they left behind.
Apollo 13 is now available to stream on Neon.
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