Apollo 13: The Greatest Movie Ever Made

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THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER MADE
(and if you disagree, you haven't watched it enough times)

A comprehensive review by Commander Dave - viewing #347 and counting...

*** HOUSTON, WE'VE HAD A PROBLEM *** HOUSTON, WE'VE HAD A PROBLEM *** HOUSTON, WE'VE HAD A PROBLEM *** FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION *** FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION ***

MOVIE INFORMATION

APOLLO 13 "A Successful Failure"
Title:	Apollo 13 (1995)
Director:	Ron Howard
Release Date:	June 30, 1995
Budget:	$52 million
Box Office:	$355 million (because the world has TASTE)
Runtime:	140 minutes (not long ENOUGH if you ask me)
Academy Awards:	Won 2, Nominated for 9 (should have won ALL NINE)
Commander Dave's Rating: 13/10 ★★★★★★★★★★★★★ (13 stars for Apollo 13. Get it? I'm very clever.)

The Apollo 13 Command Module "Odyssey"
This is the spacecraft that brought Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise home alive.
Look at it. Just LOOK at it. That little tin can survived an explosion in deep space,
a slingshot around the Moon, and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere at 25,000 mph.
I have a poster of this on my bedroom wall. My mom says I have too many posters. She's wrong.

THE CAST
The greatest ensemble in movie history. Don't even try to argue with me.

Actor	Role	Commander Dave's Take
Tom Hanks	Jim Lovell	The BEST performance of his career. Yes, better than Forrest Gump. I said what I said. When he looks out that window at the Moon and realizes he'll never walk on it -- you can see his whole life flash through his eyes. Tom Hanks doesn't just PLAY Jim Lovell, he BECOMES Jim Lovell. The real Jim Lovell even said Tom did a great job!! That's like getting an A+ from the teacher of life. If you think Forrest Gump was better you need to watch Apollo 13 again. And again. And again. I've done it 347 times and I'm still finding new stuff.
Kevin Bacon	Jack Swigert	He makes you like the new guy even though you're mad they replaced Ken Mattingly. That's HARD to do!! You start the movie going "who is THIS guy" and by the end you're screaming at the TV for him to survive. When he stirs the oxygen tanks and everything goes wrong, you can feel his guilt even though it wasn't really his fault. Kevin Bacon is amazing. Also fun fact: there are probably only like 3 degrees of separation between Kevin Bacon and the actual Apollo 13 crew. Somebody should check that.
Bill Paxton	Fred Haise	When he gets sick you can FEEL it. Bill Paxton is so underrated. He's got a fever, he's shivering in that freezing cold LM, and he's STILL trying to do his job. Bill Paxton plays him with so much heart. The scene where he throws up -- my friend Mike says it's gross but I think it shows how REAL the movie is. You don't just see space as cool and fun, you see what it does to your body when everything goes wrong. Bill Paxton was also in Twister which is a pretty cool movie but it's NOT Apollo 13.
Gary Sinise	Ken Mattingly	The scene where he figures out the power-up sequence in the simulator... I cry EVERY time. He got pulled from the mission because of measles exposure and you can see how DEVASTATED he is. But then when the crisis happens, he's the one who saves the day from the ground! He stays in that simulator for HOURS figuring out how to bring the spacecraft home with almost no power. Gary Sinise also played Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump so he and Tom Hanks have like this amazing working relationship. But this role was even BETTER than Lt. Dan. Yeah, I said it!!
Ed Harris	Gene Kranz	FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION. Ed Harris IS Gene Kranz. Accept no substitutes. When he puts on that white vest and starts running Mission Control, you believe in him with your WHOLE HEART. The way he takes charge when everything falls apart -- that is LEADERSHIP. My dad says I should be more like Gene Kranz when I do group projects at school. He's right. Ed Harris was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and he SHOULD HAVE WON. He lost to Kevin Spacey for The Usual Suspects which, okay, that's a good movie, but Ed Harris made you believe that a bunch of guys with slide rules could save three astronauts 200,000 miles away!
Kathleen Quinlan	Marilyn Lovell	She makes you feel what the families went through. My mom always cries during her scenes. The part where she's watching the news and she drops the ring down the shower drain -- that's not just about the ring, it's about her whole world falling apart! And when she goes to Mission Control and just STARES at the screens... you can feel a wife's love and fear all at once. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress and she deserved it. The families of astronauts are heroes too and Kathleen Quinlan shows us exactly why.

MY TOP 10 FAVORITE SCENES
Ranked after 347 viewings. This list is FINAL. (Until viewing #348.)

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#1	"Houston, we've had a problem" Okay so first of all the movie says "Houston, we have a problem" but the REAL quote was "Houston, we've HAD a problem." Past tense! Because it already happened! But whatever, even with the slightly wrong quote, this scene is PERFECTION. You hear the bang. The master alarm goes off. Jim Lovell looks at his crewmates and you see the exact moment where a routine mission to the Moon becomes a fight for survival. The way Tom Hanks delivers that line -- calm but you can see the fear underneath -- that's ACTING, people. I get chills every single time. Every. Single. Time. My little sister says I'm being dramatic but she's 9 and doesn't understand cinema.

#2	The Re-Entry Blackout Four minutes of silence. FOUR MINUTES. The whole world is holding its breath. Mission Control is calling "Odyssey, Houston" over and over and getting nothing back. The clock is ticking past the expected blackout time. Every second feels like an hour. You're staring at the screen thinking "are they alive? ARE THEY ALIVE??" And then -- that crackle of the radio and "Hello Houston, this is Odyssey, it's good to see you again!" I SCREAM every time. My grandma fell asleep during this scene on Thanksgiving and honestly that was a CRIME. How do you fall asleep during the most intense four minutes in cinematic history?! I love Grandma but she needs to rewatch that part.

#3	Gene Kranz's "Failure Is Not An Option" Speech When everyone in Mission Control is panicking and Gene Kranz stands up in his white vest and says "We have never lost an American in space, we're sure as hell not gonna lose one on my watch! Failure is not an option!" -- that is the GREATEST SPEECH in any movie, EVER. I don't care about Braveheart. I don't care about any other speech. Gene Kranz IS leadership. Ed Harris delivers it with so much conviction that you believe this man could solve ANY problem just by being stubborn enough. I wrote this quote on the cover of my math binder. My teacher Mrs. Patterson asked me about it and I told her the whole plot of Apollo 13. She said "that's very nice, David" which I think means she was impressed.

#4	The Square Peg in a Round Hole The CO2 is rising. The astronauts are going to suffocate. And the engineers at Mission Control have to figure out how to fit a square Command Module CO2 filter into a round Lunar Module socket using ONLY what's available on the spacecraft. The scene where they dump all the stuff on the table -- duct tape, cardboard, plastic bags, the flight manual cover -- and the guy says "We've got to find a way to make THIS fit into the hole made for THIS, using nothing but THAT" -- GENIUS. This scene is why I want to be an engineer when I grow up. Or an astronaut. Or both. Can you be both? I bet you can be both.

#5	Ken Mattingly's Power-Up Sequence Ken Mattingly is stuck on the ground because of stupid measles. But when the astronauts need to power up the Command Module with barely any electricity, HE'S the one in the simulator figuring it out. He's exhausted. His eyes are bloodshot. He keeps trying and FAILING. And then he gets it -- he finds the sequence that draws just enough amps to bring the ship back to life. Gary Sinise plays this so perfectly. You can see the determination, the refusal to give up. This is the scene where I always cry. I don't care if my friend Tyler says crying at movies is dumb. Tyler's favorite movie is Ace Ventura which tells you everything you need to know.

#6	The Launch Sequence The Saturn V rocket! The most powerful machine ever built by humans! The launch sequence in this movie is INCREDIBLE. You can feel the vibrations through the TV screen (okay maybe not literally but ALMOST). The five F-1 engines igniting, the hold-down bolts releasing, 7.5 million pounds of thrust lifting that rocket off the pad at Kennedy Space Center. The g-forces pressing the astronauts into their seats. Jim Lovell looking over at his crewmates with that grin. I made my dad pause the VHS here once so I could explain how many gallons of fuel the Saturn V burns per second. He said "that's great, sport" but I could tell he was really impressed. It's 203,400 gallons in the first 2.5 minutes by the way. YOU'RE WELCOME.

#7	Building the CO2 Scrubber So after the engineers figure out the square-peg-round-hole problem (#4), you get to see the astronauts actually BUILD the thing! With duct tape and cardboard and the cover of the flight plan! In SPACE! While they can barely think because the CO2 levels are making them loopy! This scene shows you that space exploration isn't just about rockets and math -- it's about duct tape and improvisation. I tried to build my own CO2 scrubber for the science fair last year using the same materials. Mrs. Chen gave me an A- which I think was unfair because mine actually looked a LOT like the one in the movie. She said "it doesn't actually scrub CO2, David" but STILL.

#8	Jim Lovell Seeing the Moon Jim Lovell has been to the Moon before on Apollo 8 -- he orbited it! And now he's going BACK to actually walk on it. It's his dream. And then everything goes wrong and he knows he'll never land there. There's this scene where the Lunar Module swings around the far side of the Moon and he looks out the window at the surface below and you can just SEE the heartbreak on his face. He covers the Moon with his thumb. He's so close but so far away. Tom Hanks says so much without saying anything in that scene. My eyes get wet EVERY time but it's because of allergies, not crying. Okay fine, I'm crying. The man lost his Moon landing! Have a HEART!

#9	Splashdown and First Contact After the blackout (scene #2), you see the parachutes deploy and the capsule splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. The helicopters are circling. The Navy divers jump into the water. And then the hatch opens and there they are -- alive! ALIVE!! After everything they went through -- the explosion, the cold, the CO2, the power failures, the re-entry -- they made it HOME. The whole control room at NASA erupts. People are crying. People are hugging. Gene Kranz lights up his cigar. I literally jump off the couch every time. My dog runs away because I scare him with my cheering. Sorry, Buster, but YOUR ASTRONAUTS ARE HOME!!

#10	The Ending Montage with Real Footage The movie ends with Jim Lovell's narration over footage of the real Lovell on the aircraft carrier USS Iwo Jima. And they blend the movie Tom Hanks with the REAL Jim Lovell so seamlessly -- one moment you're watching the actor and the next you're watching the actual astronaut being welcomed back. Jim Lovell narrates about his crew, about what happened to everyone after. And then the camera pulls back and you see the real Jim Lovell in his Navy whites, saluting. I always have to pause the VHS after this because I need a moment to compose myself. This ending tells you: this wasn't just a movie. This really happened. Real people went through this. Real heroes brought them home. Gets me EVERY time.

THE QUOTE EVERYONE GETS WRONG
And yes, I WILL correct you at parties

Okay, I need to talk about this because it drives me ABSOLUTELY CRAZY.

Everyone -- and I mean EVERYONE -- says the famous quote from Apollo 13 is "Houston, we have a problem." And yes, that IS what Tom Hanks says in the movie. But the REAL quote, the one that astronaut Jack Swigert actually said on April 13, 1970, was:

"Houston, we've HAD a problem."

Past tense!! "We've HAD a problem" -- because the explosion already HAPPENED! It was in the past! Swigert was reporting something that had occurred, not something that was currently occurring. I mean, okay, it was STILL a problem, but grammatically, the original quote is past tense.

And actually, fun fact, the first person to say it was Jack Swigert, and THEN Jim Lovell repeated it. So the full real exchange was Swigert saying "Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here" and then Houston asks them to repeat, and Lovell says "Houston, we've had a problem." But does anyone remember Swigert said it first?? NO. Because nobody listens to me when I explain these things at lunch.

I've started correcting people at school when they say "Houston, we have a problem" and my friend Jake told me to "chill out" but I WILL NOT chill out because HISTORICAL ACCURACY MATTERS, Jake!!

Ron Howard changed it to present tense for the movie because he thought it sounded more dramatic. And okay, FINE, I see his point, but still. The real version is better because it's REAL.

Other Great Quotes From the Movie:

"Failure is not an option" -- Gene Kranz at his absolute finest. I want this on my tombstone. (Not that I'm dying anytime soon. I'm 14.)

"Gentlemen, it's been a privilege flying with you" -- Jim Lovell says this when things look their worst and it makes me SOB. The courage!! The grace!! The acceptance!! Tom Hanks delivers this line so quietly and it hits like a TRUCK.

"With all due respect sir, I believe this is gonna be our finest hour" -- Gene Kranz AGAIN. This man only speaks in quotes that should be on motivational posters.

"We just lost the Moon" -- Jim Lovell, realizing his dream is over. Four words. Four words that contain a lifetime of hope being crushed. I'm fine. I'm totally fine. (I'm not fine.)

"I don't care about what anything was DESIGNED to do, I care about what it CAN do" -- Gene Kranz, proving once again that he is the greatest human being to ever live. This is basically my life motto now.

NASA Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
This is where the REAL heroes worked. Row after row of flight controllers
staring at their screens, chain-smoking cigarettes (it was the 70s), and
refusing to give up on three men 200,000 miles from Earth.
The movie recreated this room so perfectly that the REAL Mission Control
people said it gave them chills. If that doesn't tell you how great this movie is,
I don't know what will.

WHAT THE MOVIE GOT RIGHT
vs. WHAT IT CHANGED
Because Commander Dave cares about accuracy (see: the quote rant above)

What They Got RIGHT	What They CHANGED
The Explosion: The oxygen tank really did explode on April 13, 1970. The Service Module was severely damaged, just like in the movie. They even got the details right about it being caused by a stirring of the O2 tanks. Ron Howard used actual NASA footage as reference!	The Crew Arguments: The astronauts didn't fight as much as the movie shows. In real life, Lovell, Swigert, and Haise were professional astronauts who kept their cool. The movie added some tension between them for drama. I understand WHY but the real astronauts were even MORE impressive for NOT arguing!
The CO2 Crisis: This really happened! The Command Module's lithium hydroxide canisters were square and the LM's were round. The engineers really did have to figure out a way to make them compatible using only materials on the spacecraft. The movie shows this almost exactly as it happened!	Timeline Compression: The real mission crisis lasted about 4 days. The movie compresses some events and rearranges the order of a few things. Some things that happened over hours are shown in minutes. But honestly, if they showed everything in real time the movie would be like 96 hours long, so fair enough.
The Cold: It really did get FREEZING in the spacecraft. The temperature dropped to about 38 degrees Fahrenheit. Water condensed on every surface. The astronauts were shivering in their space suits. Fred Haise really did get a urinary tract infection from the cold. The movie nailed this.	"Failure Is Not An Option": Gene Kranz never actually said this exact phrase during the real mission!! (But he should have!) He DID say it later in interviews, and it became the title of his autobiography. The movie put it in his mouth during the crisis and honestly? It fits perfectly. Sometimes movies improve on reality. SOMETIMES.
The Power Problems: The Command Module really was down to almost zero power. Ken Mattingly (well, other engineers too) really did work in the simulator to figure out a power-up sequence that would use minimal amps. This is 100% accurate and 100% awesome.	Mattingly's Role: In real life, many engineers worked on the power-up problem, not just Ken Mattingly. The movie focuses on Mattingly for dramatic effect, which makes sense because you already care about him from being pulled off the mission. But credit to ALL the engineers who helped!
Mattingly Being Grounded: Ken Mattingly really WAS pulled from the crew 72 hours before launch because of exposure to German measles. Jack Swigert really was the backup who stepped in. And Mattingly never actually got the measles!! The movie shows all of this accurately.	Marilyn's Ring: The shower scene where Marilyn Lovell loses her wedding ring down the drain -- this is dramatized for the movie. I'm not sure if it happened exactly like that in real life, but it's such a powerful symbol of everything falling apart that I don't even care. It's great filmmaking.

Bottom line: Apollo 13 is one of the most historically accurate space movies ever made. Ron Howard worked closely with Jim Lovell and the real NASA personnel. The few changes they made were for pacing and drama, not because they didn't care about the truth. This is how you make a movie about real events. Take notes, Hollywood!!

WHY TOM HANKS WAS ROBBED
A PASSIONATE ARGUMENT BY COMMANDER DAVE
(Warning: the following section contains strong opinions)

Let me lay out the facts for you. Just the facts. Cold, hard, undeniable facts:

1993: Tom Hanks wins Best Actor for Philadelphia. Great movie. Great performance. Deserved it.

1994: Tom Hanks wins Best Actor for Forrest Gump. Amazing movie. Life is like a box of chocolates. Back-to-back Oscars. Only the second person to EVER do that. The man is on a ROLL.

1995: Tom Hanks gives his BEST PERFORMANCE EVER in Apollo 13. The THREE-PEAT is right there. It's RIGHT THERE. Three Best Actor Oscars in a row. It would have been the most incredible achievement in Academy Award history. And what happens?

HE WASN'T EVEN NOMINATED.

NOT. EVEN. NOMINATED!!! The Academy didn't even put him on the ballot!! The greatest performance of the decade and they just... passed?! They said "nah, two in a row is enough"?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

And who won Best Actor that year? Nicolas Cage for Leaving Las Vegas. And look, I'm sure Leaving Las Vegas is a fine movie. I haven't seen it because my mom won't let me because it's rated R for like, really intense stuff. But even if Nicolas Cage was good -- and I'm sure he was, he's a fine actor -- IT'S NOT APOLLO 13.

Nicolas Cage plays a guy who drinks a lot. Tom Hanks plays a guy who SURVIVED AN EXPLOSION IN SPACE AND BROUGHT HIS CREW HOME ALIVE FROM 200,000 MILES AWAY. Which one sounds more impressive to you?! Which performance requires you to convey the weight of three lives on your shoulders, the loss of a lifelong dream, and the calm leadership needed to survive the most dangerous four days in space history?!

I wrote a letter to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences about this. My mom helped me address the envelope. I haven't heard back yet but I'm sure they're considering my arguments carefully.

JUSTICE FOR JIM LOVELL!!!

JUSTICE FOR TOM HANKS!!!

THREE-PEAT OR BUST!!!

(Okay I'm done yelling. But I'm not done being mad. I'll never be done being mad about this. When I'm 90 years old in a rocking chair I'll still be ranting about how Tom Hanks was robbed at the 68th Academy Awards. You can quote me on that.)

Apollo 13 Splashdown - The crew is HOME!

THEY MADE IT HOME.
April 17, 1970. Splashdown in the South Pacific.

Three parachutes. One capsule. Three astronauts who should have died
but DIDN'T because of the incredible work of Mission Control, the crew's
own courage, and a LOT of duct tape. This image makes me feel things
I can't even describe. If you look at this photo and don't get emotional,
I honestly don't know what to say to you. This is humanity at its best.
This is why we go to space. This is why Apollo 13 is the greatest movie ever made.

I'm not crying, YOU'RE crying.

*** GO WATCH APOLLO 13 RIGHT NOW *** WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR *** IT'S THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER MADE *** TELL YOUR FRIENDS *** TELL YOUR FAMILY *** TELL YOUR GRANDMA (AND MAKE SURE SHE STAYS AWAKE THIS TIME) ***

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Made with love (and 347 viewings of Apollo 13) by Commander Dave
"Houston, we've HAD a problem" -- get it right, people!!