Apollo 13 (1995)

Apollo 13

• I had high expectations going into this movie, and let me tell you, they were blown away in almost every way. This is definitely one of the best movies of the 90’s, as well as easily being Ron Howard’s greatest film. I actually didn’t realize that he directed this, so finding that out was a very nice and awesome surprise. He did a killer job, and like I said, this movie was superb. The story was obviously based on the Apollo 13 incident, so seeing everything unfold in real life was really interesting, as well as terrifying. The movie does a fantastic job of putting you right in the position of the astronauts aboard Apollo 13, which is exactly what I wanted. I also really loved how you got to see the perspective of all the NASA staff in Houston. The movie switched back and forth between the two locations, so although the pace of the movie is the same, you get to see both ends without crowding too much into the scene at once. It all fits together perfectly. And though you may think the movie is a little long, I assure you, it’s not. All the actors did a phenomenal job, especially the powerful trio of Hanks, Bacon, and Paxton. They all did a great job of presenting their feelings and knowledge through the screen, as you could really see and feel their emotions, especially in the more intense scenes. I knew Tom Hanks was in this, but I had no idea Kevin Bacon was. When I first saw Kevin on screen, I absolutely flipped my wig, as he’s recently become one of my favorite actors. The music was absolutely beautiful, because it provided a patriotic, heroic, and intense feel to the movie. One thing I strongly believe is that “the music makes the movie”, and in this case, it does. This movie would be nothing without its amazing score. The effects were pretty good, and for 1995, I was impressed, especially in the space scenes. But, the greatest, and my favorite, part of this movie was the last 20 minutes. I would be lying if I said that it didn’t have me in tears. The re-entry scene was one of the most heart-racing and emotional movie scenes I’ve ever experienced, and I wish I could go back and watch it for the first time again. I already know what the outcome was, because this was based on a true story, but you still couldn’t help but wonder what was going to happen. To me, it’s one of the best movie scenes ever filmed, and it’s easily on my list of top 10 greatest scenes ever, as well as my favorites. In fact, it moved me so much that I was both crying and clapping from the emotions and outcome of the scene. Overall, this movie was freaking amazing, and I would highly recommend it to all fans of historical dramas. This film is officially Berry Approved, so go watch it now!