How sad is this?

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

If you saw the superb 2007 documentary, "In the Shadow of the Moon", I am not certain what the point would be in viewing this forty-minute 2005 IMAX film - at least if you are old enough to remember the television coverage of the Apollo missions. The former film includes spectacular archival footage of those missions and insightful on-camera interviews with ten of the surviving astronauts. This one is aimed more directly as a motivational film for a youthful audience as it seeks to reignite the pioneering spirit that sparked the first space flights. NASA aficionado Tom Hanks wrote and produced (along with director Mark Cowen) this enthralling if somewhat cursory look at what it took to get to the moon and what it will take to continue the legacy. The film not only recreates some of the actual Apollo lunar missions but also posits what could have happened had disaster struck. The result adds a suspenseful element obviously designed to engage younger viewers.Hanks applies his storytelling skills to full dramatic effect during these fictitious interludes. They are intertwined with a whirlwind of facts presented in a breezy manner, an especially effective tactic in chronicling mankind's fascination with the moon since this film is meant to inspire as well as to educate. To reinforce the approach, there is a series of quick interviews with youngsters that bookend the featurette showing how the space race has completely preceded them and how it could be resuscitated for the next generation of lunar exploration which targets us back on the moon by 2016. A number of famous actors provide the voices of the astronauts - Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Paul Newman - but few are recognizable. The 3-D visual effects are lost on the 2007 DVD, though I think not as much as the elongated dimensions provided by an IMAX theater. Even more than the technical elements, what really brings the film together is Hanks' obvious enthusiasm for the subject. The DVD includes additional video footage and photographs from the Apollo 11 mission plus a trivia game.

Good flick, but now that the Democrats are in power, you can forget about the space program. They have starved the program at the cost of astronauts' lives, and they have interfered in every aspect. Why do they do this? Because they want to keep us bottled up in cities where they are in control and can suck the life out of us with taxes and fascist laws. So don't look to the sky or dare to dream, because they are going to continue to sabotage efforts to improve mankind at every turn. Cynically, they use the old wheeze that "we should be worrying about problems right here on Earth. They say this at a time when they have make stuff up using junk science, in order to have enough problems for a platform.

I saw this movie at our local IMAX theater at the Pink Palace Museum, Memphis, which has a screen that is about 30 feet high. The scenes of the Moon were so detailed that it was a sensory overload for me. So, I had to restrict my vision (and attention) to just a small section of the screen to avoid dizziness and vertigo. It must take a strong constitution to be an astronaut, due to an inevitable sensory overload. I get dizzy just climbing up a ladder. I know I would get a severe case of vertigo if I actually witnessed the Earth rising above the wasteland of the Moon. But, this film is excellent for young adventurers, who aspire to travel to the Moon. I am sure that vacations to the Moon will be as numerous in coming centuries as cruises to the Caribbean are today. The numerous scientific skills associated with space travel are endlessly fascinating to developing young minds. Tom Hanks, however, does a good job of warning us of the dangers of space flight and the heroism of American astronauts, who, quite literally, gave their lives to the pursuit of the dangerous vocation of space travel and exploration.

Outstanding! What a great tribute to the Apollo space program. A great use of 3D technology. I loved all of the star voices sitting in for the Apollo astronuats. I recognized some of them, not all of them. This movie - only about 45 minutes long - shows us past footage and new footage of what it was like to fly an Apollo mission to the moon. Including hypothetical worst case scenarios and what moon travel might be like in the future. For those who remember the Apollo missions, this will be a great reminder and tribute to those days of the late 60's & 70's. And for those who have no frame of reference, what a great way to learn about what it was like. The 3D effects are outstanding, not gimmicky. Please go see this movie and take your kids. I remember very little of the Apollo missions when they occurred, but this movie actually had me choked up at the end. I only wish it was longer...