It has been 30 years since Ron Howard‘s directorial masterpiece, Apollo 13, was released in theaters. The film took audiences on a suspenseful retro space ride, reliving one of the most dynamic stories in American space flight history. But, after three decades, how does this American classic hold up?

The Plot

In 1970, amid the aftermath of the “race to the moon” NASA’s continuing Apollo program had reached the lucky number 13. The mission was undertaken by Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), his flight crew Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) and Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon), and their ground crew that included Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) and Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinis). In their attempt to reach the moon, these men experienced a series of unprecedented problems during their space flight that captured the attention of the nation and held the entire world in suspense. To survive in a broken space craft with few resources and even fewer options, three men must rely on each other, and the brilliant minds back in Huston to get them back to earth.

The Review, 30 Years Later

I’ll be honest. It is a bit difficult to separate myself from the overwhelming sense of elder millennial nostalgia when I watch Apollo 13. But even when I intentionally looked for problems, I came up pretty empty. When watching a high-resolution version, some scenes may not be as sharp as modern films, and occasionally, you may notice a visual effect that doesn’t mesh quite as well as it could. There is one dream sequence that, while beautiful, did take me out of the film for a few moments, but as soon as it’s over I was back in.

However, if you can look beyond these minor flaws, you still have half a dozen incredible actors at the height of their abilities surrounded by a battalion of side character actors firing on all cylinders. A VFX display that will give you goosebumps and a score that will shake your soul. And all of it brought together under the masterful direction of Ron Howard.

‘Apollo 13 in IMAX

In honor of the 30th anniversary, Apollo 13 has been remastered and re-released in IMAX theaters. See my full review of the IMAX experience here. If you can catch it, I highly recommend you do. 

Who Should Watch?

Anyone who is interested in an intense and captivating cinematic experience should seek out Apollo 13. I wasn’t able to see it in the theaters when it was released in 1995, but I remember it still having an incredible impact when it was released on home video. I truly believe it is one of the great films of our time.