Watch Apollo 13 For Free

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Admirable film.

Absolutely Fantastic

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Y'know, it never ceases to amaze me how well films age. Whether it's a flashy blockbuster or a low budget drama, ageing is a curse that thousands of films succumb to. Apollo 13 though, still feels fresh when watching it today. Not because it's the depiction of a true event or the talented cast on screen (but that does help!), it's the direction. This was made to showcase the technical prowess and finesse that Ron Howard has in making, what I call, a Hollywood movie. James Horner for musical score, Tom Hanks as lead actor...it has all the ingredients for a 90's classic that Hollywood love to serve up. It works, so no complaints here. Let's talk about Ron Howard, he was superb directing this. His style, ever so consistent, yet always changing. Still shots, tracking shots, POV shots...you name it, he's probably included it. Tom Hanks was charming as always, Kevin Bacon's smile just steals every scene and Bill Paxton's nervous outbursts were relatable. Bringing in Ed Harris as the flight director was a smart move, he oozes confidence and brings in the acting experience to keep us hooked. It's a bittersweet true story, our astronauts venture towards the moon where an unforeseen event occurs that prevents them from landing on the surface. A landmark event, and yet they couldn't achieve it. I honestly had sympathy for our characters, seeing their dreams being crushed within hours. I also appreciated the friction between Jack and the crew, being a newcomer is always difficult and I thought that was presented well. The effects for the most part hold up decently, the rocket launch though...not so well. The background looked like Google Earth or Flight Simulator, could've been handled better even in 1995. It is a safe and familiar structure with not many thrills in store, a disadvantage for any well documented true event with a happy ending. In saying that, I was captivated and enthralled by the science and entranced by the performances. Ron Howard did a damn good job who deserves more recognition.

Synopsis: Tom Hanks stars in this Hollywood film that is based on the infamous Apollo 13 lunar landing as astronaut Jim Lovell. Alongside him are his fellow spacemen and trusty pals Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) and Fred Haise (Bill Paxton). A smooth beginning is foiled when the oxygen supply suddenly drops and their new flight path around the moon becomes a battle of survival.This amazing rendition of the crisis that is the Apollo 13 mission is overflowing with leaders within the film. Imagine you're the mission control leader on one of the biggest missions ever, one to the moon. All is great until an oxygen tank explodes and the other one leaks quickly. Now, enter the mind of Gene Kranz. He has several moments during the movie where he has to control the room and the million dollar metal rocket flying through space.The first is when the oxygen tank explodes. Everyone seems to be rushing to him asking him what they should do and he calmly says "one at a time". As a leader, you must be able to face hard situations with confidence because if you are scared, then everyone else is going to be even more scared. "Failure is not an option." The next display of leadership is when the men at mission control are discussing how long they will last and that they won't make it back to Earth. Gene tells them that they will and his resilience empowers all of the men. Once he is able to set a course of action, Gene displays an act of delegation. Delegation is a very important characteristic for a leader and his use of telling them they need to find the solution without him, allows him to be more aware of the other problems and to address the additional problems that are bound to arise. He also inspired them to think outside of the box by saying "I don't care what anything was designed to do. I care about what it can do." Because of this, they were able to break down the problems into sub-units and build a solution from the ground up. When the astronauts are just on the cusp of reentry, we see the NASA director talking about how this could be the worst disaster in the history of NASA. So then, just when everyone needed to be reassured the most, we see Gene swoop in and say, "With all due respect sir, I think that this is going to be our finest hour." Gene wasn't pessimistic, but optimistic about the outcome of the landing. How leaders deal with adversity and doubt is very important. Gene is a perfect example of a leader in this regard and all others. He is optimistic, calm against stress, and a leader that people want to follow.

On the 21st of July 1969 man first walked on the moon; that was the Apollo 11 mission, a few months later NASA is preparing for the third mission to the moon; Apollo 13. That mission is to be flown by Apollo 8 veteran Jim Lovell, Ken Mattingly and Fred Haise, who were originally due to fly the Apollo 14 mission. They train for the flight then, a matter of days before the launch, Mattingly is grounded because he may have the measles. He is replaced by standby astronaut Jack Swigert. This isn't the last of their problems by a long way. There is a problem with a rocket shortly after launch but that doesn't threaten the mission. Three days later when all appears to be going well Mission Control orders Swigert to stir the oxygen tanks; something goes wrong and there is an explosion. It soon becomes clear that they will not be landing on the moon; success will just be getting back to Earth. Everything from now on is far from routine as the crew, and those on the ground must solve problems that had never been envisaged.Given that this film is based on real events and I knew how it ultimately ended it is surprisingly gripping. The depiction of the events in space are particularly good; we get a real feel of what the crew are going through as conditions in their cramped living quarters deteriorates. Even those who know how the story ends are likely to learn new details such as the way everybody on the ground worked to find solutions to the various unforeseen problems and Mattingly tries out various ideas on a simulator. The biggest revelation for me was the fact that until things went wrong the American public seemed so indifferent to the mission so much so that the crew's broadcast from space wasn't aired by the TV networks. The cast does a fine job; Tom Hanks is great as Lovell and is ably supported by Bill Paxton and Kevin Bacon as crewmates Haise and Swigert. Those 'on the ground' impress to; most notably Ed Harris as mission controller Gene Kranz and Gary Sinise as Mattingly. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to anybody interested in the Apollo 13 story or gripping tales of men struggling to overcome adversity in general.

Apollo 13 follows the ill-fated mission back in 1970 of three astronauts attempting to land on the moon. When an explosion on the space shuttle forces the astronauts to abort their mission (which initially causes disappointment, but ultimately sets off a chain reaction of problems for the astronauts) flight director Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) and his team of NASA boffins must try to navigate the pilots back to Earth using several risky and untried methods....My summary above does give a basic foundation for this film, but unfortunately a lot of what I describe above occurs in the second half of the film (which I'm prepared to admit was pretty engrossing). It's a shame really that the first half of the film isn't anywhere near as strong as the second half as it could have been a truly great film rather than being merely a good film. The build-up to the space mission was dull and padded; Howard feels the need to show some syrupy family dynamics and topical references such as Lovell's daughters being upset about the Beatles breaking up (which seemed to have just been thrown in there to remind folks that it was set in 1970 and to give the film some soapy slush). The training aspect before the space mission was dull and I've got to be honest that I did find the film a bit tough going in the first hour.... but then....Howard must have had a big kick up the backside because the second half of the film was great. It has drama, tension and I really liked the way that everyone all chipped in together to try and get 3 of their best astronauts safely back to Earth. There is so much intricate planning in the second half that it becomes hard to keep up (and all of the geeky space talk will go over most people's heads), but the second half does contain everything that makes a good action/drama film and therefore for this portion of the film it gets two thumbs up. However....This is a narrative problem so I'm unsure who to blame here, but throughout the space mission we're led to believe that Swigert is the one who is responsible for the explosion on the shuttle and he is generally deemed as the 'bad guy' - also due to the fact that he took Mattingley's place on the shuttle. Swigert is never really painted in a positive light and I was fully ready to hate him at the end, but then I found that the rug was pulled from under me when I learned that the explosion was caused due to a defect with the shuttle rather than being caused by human error. Huh?? So Swigert did nothing wrong?? Then why make him out to be the villain all along? I've not read Lovell's book so maybe this is explained there - was there beef between Lovell and Swigert or was this Ron Howard putting in a curveball twist? Either way it didn't sit well with me and I would have preferred to have been behind all 3 of the astronauts rather than 2 of them. The energy that the film offers in the second half and the impressive cast and photography make this worth a look, but in my book this is far from being a perfect film.