In the introduction part of the movie, it shows how the Apollo 1 space capsule caught fire and exploded during a pre-flight test at Cape Canaveral. The scene ends with a hand banging on the window and being enveloped in flames.
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The movie goes on to show how the astronauts prepare for their mission and then how one of the astronauts, Ken Mattingly, is thought to have the measles and is taken off the Apollo 13 crew. Jim Lovell, who is the captain of the Apollo 13, is also given the choice to either have Ken Mattingly replaced by Jack Swigert or to have the whole crew (Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Ken Mattingly) pushed forward to another mission.
Jim Lovell made it his choice to have Ken Mattingly replaced. And Ken was extremely gutted, especially since he didn't have the measles after all, although Ken Mattingly did end up playing a crucial role in bringing the Apollo 13 back home.
From the time of the launch, until they were more than three quarters of the way to the moon, everything was going relatively smoothly except for a single minor malfunction, but that was until the spacecraft was at a distance of 321,860 km from Earth, the number two oxygen tank in the Service Module (SM) exploded.
The review of this Movie prepared by Celedrail
This wonderfully crafted film looks at the Apollo 13 crisis brings a lot of energy. Jim Lovell is about to make a voyage to the moon, but his wife thinks something bad will happen. It seems it does, as the ship breaks apart, and Jim says those immortal words "Houston, we have a problem." The film has a brilliant cast, especially from Ed Harris, and wonderful direction by Ron Howard (who was snubbed an Oscar nomination).
The review of this Movie prepared by Estefan Ellison
"One...small step for man...one...giant leap...for mankind"
This story takes place in the 1970's when the Apollo 13 mission goes to the moon, or so they think. When Lovell(played by Tom Hanks) and his team go to the moon, shortly after viewing the first landing, they encounter problems. Their ship immediatley begins to encounter problems, and they try to stay alive.
Meanwhile, Lovell's wife is trying to coop with the idea of him possibly never coming back and the media trying to get information about her any way possible.
Soon, the mission becomes desperate and Lovell and his team cannot land on the moon, but must return. With the help of NASA, they devise a plan.
The review of this Movie prepared by Matthew Hagenah
Apollo 13 was supposed to put the third pair of men on the moon's surface. Veteran astronaut James Lovell (Hanks) was mission commander. On the way out, however, part of the command module exploded, and the flight instantly lost its chance to make a lunar landing as well as much of its oxygen. While Mission Control -- especially flight director Gene Kranz (Harris) and astronaut Ken Mattingly (Sinise), who was supposed to be on the crew but was grounded shortly before liftoff because of exposure to measles -- works frantically to get Lovell, Swigert, and Haise safely back home, the three labor to slingshot their broken craft around the room and back to Earth while fighting to conserve and replace their dwindling supply of air. Based on Lovell's book _Lost Moon_ and directed by Ron Howard, this 1995 movie feels like a science fiction thriller, but it's the true story of great dreams dashed and tremendous heroism and inventiveness. The film won Oscars for Best Film Editing and Sound.
The review of this Movie prepared by David Loftus
“Houston, we have a problem!”
In April 1970, America's third scheduled Apollo moon landing lifted off uneventfully. Shortly into the four-day journey, part of the space craft exploded. When Flight Director Chris Kraft (Ed Harris) orders an engine shutdown, Commander Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) concludes, “Gentlemen, we just lost the moon.” Now, the “problem” becomes how to get the crew home.
The survival plan has the crew continue towards the moon to use its gravity to “fling” 13 back to earth while using the tiny lunar module (LM) as a three-man “lifeboat.” Director Kraft challenges his staff, “I don't care what it (the LM) was designed to do; I want to know what it can do."
Life-death decisions continue as NASA engineers work methodically to rig an adapter to lower near-fatal carbon-dioxide buildup. Meanwhile, backup astronaut Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise) improvises in a darkened simulator to squeeze from an energy-drained LM those last few volts needed to power the re-entry.
As the world prays for a safe return and Commander Lovell's wife is dogged by the press, we feel the desperation of NASA engineers working in concert as Kraft predicts, “This will be our finest hour.”
The review of this Movie prepared by Angry Jim Magin
