This is a great film, about an epic failure.
Jim Lovett (Tom Hanks) is thrilled that he finally has a chance to walk on the moon, after all, this will be his fourth trip into space.
However, his pilot, Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise) is scrubbed from the mission just two days before they are scheduled to take off as they fear he was exposed to the measles and could get sick mid-flight. So Jack Sweigert (Kevin Bacon), takes his place and becomes the first bachelor in space.
The takeoff goes well, though Jim's wife, Marilyn (Kathleen Quinlan) is still holding her breath.
The flight goes smoothly until day three when during some routine housekeeping, Jack stirs the oxygen tanks and then everything instantly does haywire. The engine nearly explodes and the men instantly lose the opportunity to land on the moon or even use basic power.
Mission Control, led by the fearless Ed Harris, works tirelessly to bring them home, while the country watches with baited breath. This makes Marilyn livid. After all, the country didn't care when they had the chance to land on the moon but they certainly seem to care now that they can't.
The flight home is precarious. The shuttle is freezing cold as the power is limited and the computers are down. They have to struggle to build a device to stop the shuttle from filling with the toxic carbon dioxide and Mission Control doesn't have a landing plan for them as this has never happened before. And Fred (Bill Paxton), the third man, is very sick, suffering from a fever.
But they land, miraculously so. Jim never flies in space again, neither does Fred because of budget cuts. Those darn budget cuts.
Though the film starts out slow, it builds quickly and is filled with great performances and a tight plot, great scenery, music and editing. It deserved all the awards it received and many more that it didn't get. Though the opening credits spoil the film, the ride is still brilliant nevertheless. Grade: A
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