Cat: Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris

Directed by: Ron Howard

"Houston, we have a problem." The line leaves one wondering what problem the crew had aboard Apollo 13 on the third attempt to land on the moon.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of man landing on the moon, when on 20th July, 1969, American astronauts Commander Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin (1930-) became the first humans ever to land on the moon. About six-and-a-half hours later, Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. As he set took his first step, Armstrong famously said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Apollo 13 lunar mission is an adaptation of the book “Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13” by astronaut Jim Lovell (the story's protagonist) and Jeffrey Kluger. The film depicts astronauts Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise aboard the spacecraft for America’s third lunar conquest. Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, and Bill Paxton play astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise respectively in this 1995 film, that shows the intense panic and danger when an onboard explosion deprives their spacecraft of its oxygen supply and electric power, forcing NASA's flight controllers to abort the Moon landing, and bring back the three men home alive.

As Houston control closely monitors every move they make, under the guidance of flight director Gene Kranz (Ed Harris), it’s a race against time. After the mishap and rounding the moon they would’ve loved to step on, the astronauts have no choice but to return home with their damaged spacecraft and land it safely with everyone alive.

As they faced near death, it was only the combined work of the NASA team and the astronauts themselves that averted one of America’s biggest disasters in space. Watch the exciting finale of the astronauts re - entry to earth, the overjoyed NASA team and the astronaut’s families as they all look on for the spacecraft’s return to earth.

Using state-of-the-art special effects and ingenious cinematography, Howard and his stellar cast and crew build a nail-biting, engrossing drama very close to the actual event that took place in 11th April 1970. The movie won two academy awards in 1995.
The DVD has no extra bonuses and also disappoints when claiming to be a two DVD set. It would’ve been wonderful to see the making of this masterpiece of history.

Rating: *****

Reviewed by Verus Ferreira