Apollo 13: Survival

As "Apollo Thirteen: Survival" (2024 release; 98 min) opens, Apollo 13 is on its way to the moon, and then an explosion happens... We go the "Four Months Earlier" as we get to know the crew for this mission, most of all Jim Lovell, who was part of the Apollo 8 mission, and his wife, who reluctantly supports him. At this point we are less than 10 minutes into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this is the latest from documentarian Peter Middleton ("The Reasl Charlie Chaplin"). Here he revisits the seemingly cursed mission (Apollo 13's launch was at 13:13 hrs. Houston time, and the explosion happened on April 13). The question is how to make a documentary worth seeing when we all know the outcome in advance? The answer: dig up yet more archive footage and pictures we have not seen before (including ample home 8mm footage and pictures from the Lovell family). This is what worked so well in the 2019 documentary "Apollo 11" and I dare say that "Apollo Thirteen: Survival" follows the exact same formular, and to great effect. Along the way we are reminded that at one point the crew was given a 10% chance of surviving. And the fate of Apollo 13 brought together the world in a manner that we probably have not seen since then. Please note that, per the film's opening credits, the correct title of this is "Apollo Thirteen: Survival" (and not "Apollo 13: Survival").

"Apollo Thirteen: Survival" is currently streaming on Netflix, where I caught it just the other night. This documentary is currently rated 100% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, which feels a little too generous to me, but no matter. If you liked the 2019 documentary "Apollo 11" or simply are interested in the NASA space exploration program, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

I absolutely love the story of Apollo 13. What an incredible tribute to the human spirit and to the amazing men and women who overcame this disaster.

However, the documentary is slightly disappointing. While I love vintage footage, my general feeling is that I could have watched free videos on YouTube and gotten roughly the same content that I got here. I still enjoyed it and I'm rating it a 7 which is a quality show, but I felt it slightly underachieved its potential.

ABOUT MY REVIEWS:

I do not include a synopsis of the film/show -- you can get that anywhere and that does not constitute a meaningful review -- but rather my thoughts and feelings on the film that hopefully will be informative to you in deciding whether to invest 90-180 minutes of your life on it.

My scale: 1-5 decreasing degrees of "terrible", with 5 being "mediocre" 6- OK. Generally held my interest OR had reasonable cast and/or cinematography, might watch it again 7 - Good. My default rating for a movie I liked enough to watch again, but didn't rise to the upper echelons 8- Very good. Would watch again and recommend to others 9- Outstanding. Would watch over and over; top 10% of my ratings 10 - A classic. (Less than 2% receive this rating). For Lifetime Movies for Chicks (LMFC), drop the above scale by 3 notches. A 6 is excellent and 7 almost unattainable.

This documentary emphasises the rising anxiety among the mission controllers, astronauts and their families, NASA and the US government, and eventually the whole world via the news media - at least, for those with journalists at the scene.

The personal reactions/body languages and team challenges of specialists working under extreme stress are fascinating to observe - plenty of thought-provoking content here for training courses, supplementing the usual Tom Hanks account focusing on the CO2 scrubber.

Brits of a certain age will spot an anxious James Burke, crossing his fingers and knawing his gnuckles. Patrick Moore's facial expressions are telling as always, despite him having a non-speaking part.

There is loads of genuine Apollo footage (albeit supplemented by some fill-in content from other missions) plus contemporaneous TV coverage and home videos. If the evolving crisis doesn't spark your imagination, the remarkable scenes of a distant earth viewed by three men uncertain they would ever return, are well worth the watch. Even the crude TV "graphics" tell a story of the time.

If you take a small sip of sherry every time you spot a cigarette or cigar in Mission Control, you'll probably miss the closing scenes ...

Bottom line: a superb documentary account of the near disastrous mission - gripping stuff, highly recommended.

This is a great documentary. What's particularly great about it is that there's no narrator like they have on shows like Planet Earth and National Geographic documentaries. Instead, this one uses expert editing to piece together original footage - by the astronauts on the shuttle, of the NASA Mission Control room, and of media coverage, as well as photographs. You know what's going on simply from watching this footage, along with sparingly used interviews with Lovell's wife that are played over some of the images. It makes you feel like you're living it in the moment, the way people experienced it back then. It's an incredible and gripping story, and very well-made.

One thing I do wish though, is that they had included a little bit more. I've seen the Apollo 13 movie and have wondered about certain parts - if they were true, and also just feeling like I wanted to learn more about certain events that were portrayed. There were a number of things highlighted in the movie that were omitted from the documentary (like Ken Mattingly's role in coming up with a power-up plan), and I'm not sure if it's because they didn't actually happen that way in real life and were added to the movie for dramatic effect, or if the documentary was working with a length limit. But it's really a great watch, I recommend this.

We finally get to see what really happened and these brave men using their instincts to get home to their families. The anxiety, excitement , fear, patriotism was palpable. From the command center to the men on the craft, it was nail biting.

I wish they would have interviewed the astronauts and their families at the end. Recommended this to everyone and they enjoyed it. I was 5 going on 6 when this mission happened and I can remember the splashdown and how everyone was glued to their TVs and radios. I miss these days, but so glad to see it all. Your bravery and exploring the frontier of space will forever be remembered. God speed to all who have ever gone into space. This is what real men, women, and families looked like then.