APOLLO 13

"APOLLO 13"
(1995) (Tom Hanks, Ed Harris) (PG)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	None	Minor	Moderate	Mild

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Minor	None	Moderate	None	Moderate

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Minor	Moderate	Moderate	Mild	None

QUICK TAKE:: Drama: The crew of the Apollo 13 space mission try to return safely to Earth after a mishap in space.

PLOT:: In this portrayal of the true events of the 1970 Apollo 13 space mission, astronauts Jim Lovell (TOM HANKS), Fred Haise (BILL PAXTON), and Ken Mattingly (GARY SINISE) are ready to be the next crew to land on the moon. NASA doctors, however, think that Ken will get the measles, so he's replaced by backup astronaut, Jack Swagert (KEVIN BACON). Once in route to the moon, a serious mishap occurs that cripples their craft and prevents them from making a landing. Soon it's realized that their lives are in danger and flight director Gene Kranz (ED HARRIS) directs his men in Houston to bring back the three crew members. Meanwhile, Jim's wife, Marilyn (KATHLEEN QUINLAN), and other family members must endure the following tense days as the crew tries to safely return to Earth.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Younger kids probably won’t, but older children and especially those interested in the space program will.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: Other than some minor promiscuous behavior by KEVIN BACON'S character, there isn't a bad role model in the bunch. While some characters smoke, it must be remembered that smoking was a more accepted behavior during that time.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

OUR TAKE: 9 out of 10: In what was one of the best films of 1995 and one of the better of the 1990's, Apollo 13 is nearly a flawless film. Filled with emotion, drama and suspense, it harkens back to the days when America was just starting to become cynical, but still had that "can do" attitude. With the crisis that developed, the families, the NASA family, and the nation came together to hope, pray and work together to bring the three men back from outer space. And director Ron Howard captures those emotions and dramatic intensity in this amazing film that's uplifting, suspenseful and just plain fun to watch. But what Howard captures best is the time and feeling when NASA astronauts were living legends and heroes to the public, which is certainly gone in today's world. The only post-release drawback to the film is that Ed Harris didn’t win the Oscar for best supporting actor. He created a character with a positive attitude that was unmatched in intensity. The rest of the performances are outstanding and Hanks finishes off his "acting trifecta" ("Philadelphia" and "Forrest Gump" being parts one and two) and proves that he's one of the most versatile actors working today. You'll be hard pressed to find a film that's as good at "Apollo 13" and we give it a big 9 out of 10.

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:: While there is a good amount of profanity (the worst being 10+ "s" words), most of it occurs under tense situations and is somewhat to be expected (and certainly could have, and historically may have been worse). The tense scenes might be another concern, especially if younger children are concerned that their parents’ work is dangerous and something like this might happen to them. The movie, however, has many positive moments, especially with the families coming together for support and the extended NASA family having the "can do" attitude. While little kids probably won’t want to see this, we say it’s a must see for older children. While there’s not much to object to, we do suggest that you check out the category listings to determine if that’s true for you and your family.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: People drink champagne at the moon walk party and later Marilyn asks Jim if he's drunk. He says he is and that he's not used to the champagne. She also appears to be somewhat inebriated.
Many empty beer cans are seen around Ken as he watches TV.

BLOOD/GORE: Fred throws up right after they make it into orbit. Some liquids and a few chunks of semi-digested food float about the cabin.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Jim and Fred aren't crazy about Jack being their new team member, but that's because they had trained with and had expected Ken to be part of their crew.
Fred partially blames Jack for their problems, but this is momentary and they all come together to work as a team to work through the crisis.
During a few moments some of the NASA staff don’t think the men will survive, but Gene builds up the positive attitudes among all of them.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: There are a few quick shots of an early space crew that perished in a fire and the worst shows a man beating on a window with a fire in the background (and we're told that three people died).
A nightmare sequence shows an accident in outer space where a hatch is blown off and one of the crew members struggles to keep from being sucked out, but loses his battle.
After the initial explosion, the entire rest of the movie becomes a long and tense sequence of events as the men try to return to Earth.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "Shut up," "This stinks," "You’re stupid," and "I could eat the ass out of a dead rhinoceros."

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): There is a moderate amount of tension filled music throughout the movie.

PROFANITY: 13 "s" words, 15 damns, 10 hells, 3 "ass" words, and 7 uses of "God damn," 3 uses each of "Jesus" and "Christ," 2 uses of "God" and 1 use of "Oh God" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: Innuendo: Jack demonstrates the docking procedure of the spacecraft to a woman stating that he's the beer bottle and she's the glass as he inserts the bottle into the glass: "The thing that sticks out is called the probe...When you feel that thing slide in, and everything's clicking, it's like no other feeling in the world."
Jack comes out of the shower and we see that there's a woman still in there. No nudity or activity, though, is seen.
After Fred states that it hurts to urinate he says, "I think ol' Swaggert gave me the clap (gonorrhea) pissing in my relief tube."

SMOKING: Jim and few other people have cigars at the moon walk party, but none are seen smoking them.
Gene smokes quite a bit as things get tense.
Many people smoke in the background of several scenes, especially in the control room.
The Mission Control staff celebrates with cigars.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: The Lovell's oldest daughter is in her rebellious stage and there a few minor scenes of tension between her and her parents (what to wear for a Halloween party, etc...).
The families of the astronauts must deal with the tension and emotion of having their loved ones in danger.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: The historical accuracy of the story.
NASA and other space missions.

Reviewed January 18, 1997

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