Movie · 1995 · Drama, History · 2h 20m · PG · English
Curator score: 7.6/10 (598.5K ratings)
"Houston, we have a problem."
Overview
The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.
Ratings
Curator score: 7.6/10
IMDb: 7.7/10
Letterboxd: 3.82/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Metacritic: 78
TMDB: 7.5/10
Director
Ron Howard
Production
Imagine Entertainment, Universal Pictures
Cast
Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, Kathleen Quinlan, David Andrews, Xander Berkeley, Christian Clemenson, Brett Cullen, Loren Dean, Clint Howard, Ben Marley, Marc McClure, Tracy Reiner, Joe Spano, Mary Kate Schellhardt, Emily Ann Lloyd, Miko Hughes, Max Elliott Slade
Curator Review
Verdict
A sturdy, crowd-pleasing survival drama that turns procedural problem-solving into real suspense. It’s less about spectacle than teamwork, competence, and pressure, which makes the true story feel both inspiring and tense.
Best for
viewers who like based-on-true-story dramas
fans of technical problem-solving and mission-control teamwork
audiences who prefer earnest, classical Hollywood storytelling
people who enjoy suspense without cynicism
Skip if
you want hard sci-fi or space spectacle
you dislike procedural, talky ensemble dramas
you prefer emotionally messy or stylistically daring films
Overview
Apollo 13 is one of the great examples of turning logistics into cinema. The movie understands that the drama is not just in the danger, but in the collective intelligence required to survive it. Every call, calculation, and improvised fix carries weight, and the film keeps finding new ways to make competence feel thrilling.
Worth noting
Ron Howard stages the crisis with clarity and restraint, letting the audience track the problem-solving without ever losing the human stakes. The ensemble is excellent, but the real star is the movie’s confidence in process: this is a film about people doing difficult work under impossible pressure, and making that work feel heroic.
Bottom line
It can be a little polished and reverent, and it rarely strays from its inspirational lane. But as a mainstream disaster-and-survival drama, it’s exceptionally effective: smart, accessible, and built on the satisfying idea that brains, discipline, and cooperation can still save the day.
Top Letterboxd reviews
BossBabyFan (3.5★) · 2281 likes
Movie made no sense because I didn’t watch the first 12.
Lucy (3.5★) · 1786 likes
in space no one can hear you pee
Patrick Willems (3.5★) · 1499 likes
Shoutout to Ron Howard for being the only filmmaker to make math look cool.
matt lynch (3.5★) · 1107 likes
"I suggest you gentlemen invent a way to put a square peg in a round hole. Rapidly."
adambolt (3★) · 972 likes
my brother thought Houston was a person and now i just love the idea that there is one guy named Houston who lives at NASA
A foundational American space epic with the same mix of awe, procedure, and institutional ambition, but with a broader, more sprawling historical sweep.