Thirteen Days

Starring: Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Steven Culp, Dylan Baker
Directed by: Roger Donaldson
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Historical, Thriller
2000

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Follows President John F. Kennedy (Bruce Greenwood), Robert F. Kennedy (Steven Culp) and presidential aide Kenneth O'Donnell (Kevin Costner) as the United States goes to the bring of nuclear war with the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Review:

Tim: A movie that shows behind the scenes of what JFK and RFK went through during the Cuban Missile Crisis? Sign me up, because I am totally there. This is a fascinating and still-frightening time in American history that future generations should not forget. Thirteen Days gives us a detailed look at the political wheeling and dealing and the pressures on a small group of people that occurred as the world's two superpowers came to the brink of nuclear war. I always knew we can extremely close, but this film shows you how little to the left or right certain events could have shifted, and you would not be sitting there reading my review of this movie. You would be dead, or never been born.

Kevin Costner is excellent as the Special Assistant to the President. I've always liked him, and he's good here. I was a little disappointed in Bruce Greenwood and Steven Culp who play the Brothers Kennedy. They are not bad, and are at least realistic, but the roles are so critical, I just think they needed to do a stronger job or have better actors playing the parts.

The film is hurt a bit because it doesn't evoke enough emotion in us. This is a dramatic, scary time. While we're kept interested, I felt the film needed to raise the emotional bar a bit. In the end, this is a solid film and it is educational- go be entertained and learn something.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: JFK, Nixon