Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 1, 1995 TAG: 9507040009
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Working from astronaut James Lovell's book, "Lost Moon," director Ron Howard tells a true story of heroism with all the drama and suspense of good fiction.
Though Howard seems to have had the full cooperation of NASA and other government agencies, he did not use any "official" footage of the rocket launch and space flight. He chose conventional special effects, computer-generated visuals and other tricks (more about those later) to create some of the most convincing outer space scenes since "2001."
These scenes deliberately underplay the flashy pyrotechnics that audiences usually associate with space films. Instead, the carefully controlled effects serve to make the cramped isolation and danger of a moon flight seem completely real and believable.
The story is set in the spring of 1970 when astronauts Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) and Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise) get the word that their moon mission, Apollo 14, has been moved up in line. They'll take number 13, and so their training intensifies, at the expense of the back-up crew, including Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon).
Things start to go wrong well before the launch, but those are nothing that NASA can't handle and the mission proceeds. On the way to the moon though, something terrible happens and the deadpan phrase, "Houston, we have a problem," enters the national vocabulary.
Then the guys in Mission Control led by Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) and Deke Slayton (Chris Ellis) go to work. Intercut with their desperate efforts are the reactions of wives Marilyn Lovell (Kathleen Quinlan) and Mary Haise (Michelle Little) and their families. The shifting focus from home to Houston to space capsule becomes predictable before the end, but that's a quibble.
Howard, writers William Broyles Jr. and Al Reinert, director of photography Dean Cundey and editors Mike Hill and Dan Hanley establish that narrative rhythm in the opening reels and stick with it. They also make the three locations seem equally convincing. To re-create the experience of space flight, they built a set of spacecraft interiors that could be contained inside a KC-135 airplane. By following a certain trajectory the plane can re-create weightlessness for about 25 seconds. Cast and crew spent several hours flying in the KC-135 to re-create that aspect of space travel.
In the context of the film, though, zero-gravity is no more important than the cold and other extreme conditions that the astronauts experienced on their voyage. Their goal shifts from a triumphant exploration of the moon to simple survival. And the stars make their emotional state just as compelling as the environment.
Given the demands and structure of the story, most of the actors' important scenes are shot in extreme close-up and they react accordingly with small, telling gestures and expressions. Though in many ways this is an ensemble piece, Hanks is at his best, particularly in one key scene when he realizes what has happened to his dreams of walking on the moon.
Despite all the tricks at his disposal, Howard uses the same unobtrusive directorial style that's served him so well before. This is a simple story with clearly defined characters facing unambiguous c/onflicts - good guys in a tough situation - and it's not spoiling anything to say that audiences likely will be applauding when the closing credits roll.
Apollo 13
*** 1/2
A Universal release playing at the Salem Valley 8 and Tanglewood Mall Cinema. 135 min. Rated PG for strong language.
by CNB