The April 1970 Apollo 13 mission to the moon was cut short when an explosion created problems inside the spacecraft. The three astronauts and those at Mission Control then had to concentrate on simply staying alive and returning home, if that proved possible. Ron Howard’s “Apollo 13” (1995) offers a dependable depiction of what actually happened, and it's clear that it shaped "The Martian," which came out twenty years afterward—though the latter isn't rooted in historical happenings. My feeling is this highlights a flaw with the film: because you likely already know how things turn out, any sense of anticipation lessens. Still, I did find it engaging to see what conditions were like for actual astronauts and to witness the determination and cleverness shown by those at Mission Control as they worked with limited resources to bring the crew back safely. The movie has a running time of 2 hours and 20 minutes. It stars Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, and Kathleen Quinlan. GRADE: B/B-

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