When I first saw Apollo 13 fifteen years ago I didn't really care for it, I thought it was boring probably due to knowing how it would end. I'm not sure what I was thinking back then because Apollo 13 is a very solid movie with a great cast, fine acting, solid direction and a moving story. While I still don't think it's a classic it is an excellent piece of film.
The story of Apollo 13 is well known and I'm sure most people are familiar with it on at least a basic level. The cast (Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bil Paxton, Gary Sinese, Ed Harris and Kathleen Quinlan with Harris and Quinlan in Oscar nominated performances) is in fine form throughout and they are the main draw to the film. Director Ron Howard does an admirable job of maintaining tension throughout even though the happy ending is never in doubt. This is a movie about the journey, not the ending and that journey is at times moving and always dramatic. While I'm sure there are many liberties taken with the actual events, the movie always feels real and that's the best way to judge a film that's based on a true story.
The blu-ray is an excellent example of a catalog title done right. For a 15-year-old film the video quality is excellent. It's not the most colorful movie ever made but black levels are obviously important and they are very strong. Detail is mostly top-notch with a few instances of softness that momentarily pop up but that's very rare with the scenes in space being especially high in quality. The audio is also fantastic. The movie is mostly dialogue and that comes through very clearly. With numerous scenes set in space surround use is minimal but when the movie calls for it (mostly in take off and landing sequences) they come alive along with some of the most prodigious low end I've ever heard in a catalog title. My house was literally shaking at times.
While I don't consider Apollo 13 to be a true classic, it is an excellent movie nonetheless. The blu-ray is great as well. The younger version of me was an idiot for not liking it.
Ratings
Movie: 4/5
Blu-ray: 4.5/5
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