Apollo 13

Apollo 13 is a movie based on the actual situation of the famous Apollo 13 mission. So instead of the usual movie based on a book or an idea, this movie is actually a retake of what happened in the Apollo 13. We just get a first-hand look at exactly what happened. In real life, all we knew that happened was what we were told down on Earth by mission control in Houston, Texas. And now thanks to this movie, we can actually understand in more detail, what those three men went through. In other words, Apollo 13 is a movie that was based on what was to be the third lunar-landing mission, which turned out to be one of the scariest missions in history when they heard the deadly words, “Houston, we have a problem.”
But, that was just the introduction. What I’m going to talk about is what those three men were probably feeling at certain moments in the movie and my opinion on how I would feel if I was in their position and just a mix of a movie review at the end of the paper. In the very beginning of the movie, it stars Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon), Fred Haise (Bill Paxton), and Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise). Jim, Fred, and Ken were the original three men to be a part of the Apollo 14 mission. After an occurrence happens with the original Apollo 13 crew, the Apollo 14 crew is bumped up to the Apollo 13 mission. This means that Jim, Fred, and Ken get to travel to the moon earlier than they and their families expected. The feelings that would be with those pilots would be the greatest joy imaginable. The feeling with their families would be a mix of happiness and sadly surrounded by a cloud of concern. If I was in the pilot’s position I would be so ecstatic that I would be able to see the Earth as a tiny sphere as we see the moon on Earth. In reality I understand that I would never be able to go in space because of my condition. I learned that if someone has asthma or any heart conditions, then they wouldn’t be able to fly, because they probably wouldn’t live through the lift off.
Anyways, back to the paper. So next comes the training to fly the Apollo 13 to the moon. The initial mission that the Apollo 13 crew had was to go to the moon and grab some moon rocks. With only three weeks till the launch something has to go wrong. Ken Mattingly was told that he wouldn’t be able to go up into space because he was going to get the measles. To him this was probably worse than death. To get the measles means that he would not be able to go into space at all. Someone else would have to take his place. The reason why I say that this is worse than death is because Ken is alive and witnessing what should have been his experience, but if he was dead he wouldn’t have to witness it.
The next event that would rattle anyone’s mind is when Houston led Jack through some standard housekeeping procedures and the one that messed everything up was to give the oxygen tanks a stir. One of the coils that were connected to the oxygen tanks broke off and everything went downhill from there. The shift that those three men felt made their hearts start racing. The men didn’t want to die out in space, as no one really would, and started working their butts off. Now the men didn’t know what was leaking or anything. Jim looked out the window and saw that it was gas of some kind and the way it looked to him made him believe that it was oxygen. Knowing that oxygen is leaking from the “Odyssey” is one of the worst things that they can be told. Without oxygen, they can’t survive. Down on Earth, Houston is in a frenzy trying to figure out what they can do to save them and go to the moon. It ends up that the trip to moon is canceled and the only thing that is important is getting those three men back down to Earth safe and sound. If I was in space when that happened, I would not be myself at all. I would be freaking out. Now my opinion is based on what I would think I would feel without having all of the extensive training that the crew of the Apollo 13 had to undertake. I can’t give my opinion on it if I was given the training, because I wasn’t.
During the rest of the mission everything had to be taken as serious as life and death. Anything that those men did either helped them or hindered them. Back down on Earth, Houston calls Ken to save the day. The only problem is that Ken kept the phone off the hook because he was furious with Houston. He never did get the measles. Houston came to his house and practically kicked down the door just to get a hold of him. They got him up and dressed and back to the Houston Command Center to find a way to get the Apollo 13 crew back home safe and sound. Up in space there was yet another problem that was going to kill them if something wasn’t done. The carbon dioxide was rising at an unstable rate. If the lever hit 15 percent then the crew would suffocate. The lever got so close to reaching 15 percent, but thanks to Houston, the device that they had built had saved that problem. The lever started to decrease and that was one problem out of the way. Now here comes the real issue. Ken had to figure out a way to get the power to a certain point without going over the mark. Ken had some trouble being able to do this completely and correct. After many tries, Ken finally got it perfect. He led Jack through the procedure step by step. Jack followed every single step and got power.
Now the only problem they have is re-entering into the Earth’s atmosphere. The heat shield may not be able to hold them. Just another problem for the crew members of Apollo 13 to experience. The approximated time limit for the space craft to enter the atmosphere is three minutes. “Odyssey” entered the atmosphere and hit the water at a little over 4 minutes. That one minute must have been the longest minute in the history of time. Not knowing if they were alive or dead must have been the worst feeling ever. Everyone in the United States was completely silent waiting for the word on the crew passengers. Thankfully, they made it though and landed safe and sound in the ocean. Everyone was so happy that their loved ones had made it back home safe and sound. Houston cheered and applauded at the return of their crew. Families had their loved ones back and honestly, everyone was so happy that they had tears of joy in their eyes. The mission in the end was called a successful failure, because they made it back safely, but never made it to the moon.
Jim Lovell never returned to space. Instead he watched other men go to the moon from Houston Control and from his house. Fred Haise was to go back to the moon on Apollo 18, but it was canceled because of budget cuts and he never flew in space again. Jack Swigert didn’t fly up in space either; he left the astronaut world and was elected to congress in the state of Colorado, but he died of cancer before he could take his office. Ken Mattingly orbited the moon as head commander of Apollo 16 and flew the space shuttle having never gotten the measles.
This movie is one of the most powerful movies out there in the world. I loved this movie and cried at the end. I will say this though, this is one movie that I would hold onto and show my family when I make my own. And now as it said at the end of the film:
The End