Review of Apollo 13 (1995) by B C — 24 Nov 2009

(from The Watermark 07/12/95).

APOLL-INGLY BAD FASHION SENSE: Ron Howard?s new opus magnus, Apollo 13, is visually stunning: you?ll be particularly stunned at the retro-seventies costuming that makes the characters look like rejects from Pee-Wee?s Playhouse. As Mrs. Jim Lovell, Kathleen Quinlan is a fashion disaster even in 1970 terms: frosted blue eyeshadow, white-pink lipstick, and an anachronistic Woolworth wig. If I recall (from what my grandmother told me), hair back then was bigger, smoother and shaped like, well, a space helmet.

But Quinlan?s hubby is the only one wearing the helmet in this family. He is, of course, astronaut Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), the commander of the American spaceship Apollo XIII on its 1970 lunar mission following Neil Armstrong?s triumph just a year earlier. Along with his two partners, Fred Haise (Bill Paxton), and Jack Swiggart (Kevin Bacon), Lovell is thrilled to know he will get to walk on the moon?s surface. Unfortunately they find a few problems along the way, and their mission must be aborted. Then, more complications arise as NASA isn?t sure if they have enough air and power to get back to the planet Earth safely.

Kooky costuming aside, Apollo 13 is close to cinematic perfection. Because it is based on fact, the material runs the risk of getting too static as it struggles to be true to the events as they happened. But Howard takes well thought out steps to keep things moving along. The photography and special effects are breathtaking. The soundtrack by James Horner is gorgeous: it captures the vastness of space travel while not getting too melodramatic. The use of choruses and guest vocals by Annie Lennox enhance without overpowering.

I?m not into science, and I?m certainly no fan of the USA?s space program. In all honesty, I probably wouldn?t have seen this film if I weren?t reviewing it. Yet, I was surprised to find myself quite moved when the Apollo XIII first launches. Later, I came to realize that Apollo 13?s shrewdest move is focusing on the emotional side of the Science 101-cluttered story. The episodes in space are interwoven with scenes back home of the families of the astronauts waiting by their televisions and NASA radios for news of their beloved. The film involves us so closely with their worrisome plight that the moment we realize the astronauts are safe, it is a highly charged and tearful climax. It is rare that we get to see the human side of technology and science; Apollo 13 makes a historical journey into an artistic one that has Oscar written all over it.