Rating: 
Summary: Flawed but interesting retelling of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Review: Thirteen Days goes back to the days when school children were taught to "duck and cover" if an atomic bomb exploded, and homeowners were encouraged to build fall-out shelters. It retells how close the US came to going to war with the Soviet Union because the latter place intermediate-range nuclear missles in Cuba without realizing the tremendous political impact that would have in the US. Bruce Culp is excellent as JFK, although there is not a strong physical resemblance. His acting skills more than make up for it. As for the accuracy of the movie, it veers from literal repetition of what people said during meetings -- because the meetings were taped and transcripts have been released -- to the near fictional by playing up Kenny O'Donnell's role in the crisis, which in reality was almost nonexistent. Since O'Donnell is played by Costner, he portrayed as the real brains of the White House. Both JFK and RFK are shown as eagerly seeking his advice and his reassurance that they are capable of doing their jobs. While O'Donnell was an important aide to Kennedy, one doubt that anyone as confident as JFK was so dependent on him. Another problem is that the movie portrays the military as war-crazy, and it seems that they, and not the Soviets, are the real villains. However, for me these faults were redeemed by Culp's performance and the inherent drama of the story.
Rating: 
Summary: Triskaidekophiles' Delight
Review: It is a real challenge to make a film that deals with well-known historical fact whose outcome is not only known in advance to most audience members but which also manages to maintain a low body count. When such a film grips the viewer thoroughly, it is a sure testament to great acting, directing, and writing. Thirteen Days, like Ron Howard's Apollo 13, manages the task superbly, to the delight of triskaidekophiles everywhere. That certain liberties were taken with the historical facts should come as no surprise, as Hollywood's task is not accurate portrayal but fascinating storytelling. Nevertheless, Thirteen Days maintains a reasonable link with the facts as they've been presented to the general public, although historians won't want to view this as a documentary. Acting was superb throughout, with Steven Culp as Robert Kennedy and Michael Fairman as Adlai Stevenson deserving of special mention. Roger Donaldson's direction utilizes the odd camera angles so in vogue now, and distractingly attempts to blur the line between film and newsreel by moving from color to black-and-white, but is otherwise excellent. And most important, of course, is the story itself--that strength need not only come from the gun; that armed conflict resolves little and demands far too much; and that men of good will, when given the opportunity, can resolve even the most intractable problems. Perhaps Thirteen Days is no documentary, but instead a lesson to would-be leaders on the value of restraint.
Rating:
Summary: It was really that close.
Review: I wasn't around when the Cuban Missile Crisis took place but I have read about it and have heard many stories and watched the occasional documentary on those frightening days. Still, no matter how compelling the telling of the story was it was hard to really "feel" something of that magnitude. It always seemed so unbelievable and therefore came across as overly dramatized. Was it really that close? This film took me there and it's a trip back in time that I won't ever forget. Kevin Costner as Presidential Aid Kenny O'Donnell gives another great performance, this time as our eyes and ears during those thirteen days. Once again he manages to capture the raw truth in his character, in this case as O'Donnell we see a good friend, a patriot, and a concerned husband and father, committed and loyal to those who had the decisions to make but also overwhelmed and
scared about the reality of what was at hand. Not a superhero - just very real, and therefore believable. A really fine performance. Kevin Costner is a very underrated talent. Bruce Greenwood as President John F. Kennedy gives a great performance by showing us a glimpse of the politician behind the tabloidized-image. He showed us someone with bad judgments and good judgments, in pain most of his adult life, not popular with his peers but with the will to do what was right for the people during an unprecedented situation which threatened horrific ramifications. Robert Kennedy is played equally well by the very talented Steven Culp. In fact, the entire ensemble of players are so good and their scenes are so engaging that you sometimes get that "I'm a fly on the wall" feeling during the picture. There are no glamour shots. Kevin Costner is sometimes a blur in the back-ground in some scenes, you know it's him, but you're too into what is being said in the foreground to care. This film is not a glamorization of the Kennedy's and you do see flaws in Camelot and it's players, however, what is undeniable is that there were heroic decisions of global importance made during that time and because of those decisions this is piece of History with a happy ending. This film belongs in the collection of anyone who lived through that time and for those like myself who didn't. It is an opportunity to bear witnesses to a shining example of politicians using their skills to brilliantly manipulate the system and it's players so as to better serve the people, rather than the other way around. This should be required viewing for any political administration. The scenes are very engaging and there was always something going on or being said that I didn't want to miss. If you like great stories which you'll feel inspired to know more about then this is a DVD you won't want to miss.
Rating:
Summary: Docudrama.
Review: Interesting reenactment of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, reminiscent of a TV drama but with more money behind it. Director Roger Donaldson puts us right in the Oval Office, with hardly any respite from its insulation -- when it does venture outside, it still maintains a strictly American focus, showing either reconnoitering pilots or a family of one of JFK's aides. The Iron Curtain is fully lowered: we have no idea what the Soviets are up to or why they're doing it. (The caveat to this being, of course, that we're beneficiaries of foreknowledge about how the crisis turns out.) The movie has its flaws. Inevitably, we end up mulling over how much the actors actually resemble the Kennedy brothers, let alone act like them . . . but then this is a common problem with movies about famous personages, especially Presidents, whom actors have a notoriously hard time imitating. When you're saying to yourself, "That guy really looks like Bobby," it's a distraction from the story, let's face it. Indeed, the movie almost doesn't recover from a bad Jackie imitation early on (fortunately, she vanishes for good from the proceedings). Another distraction is the main character of the movie, Kenny O'Donnell, played by Kevin Costner. Halfway through, I felt like walking onto the set and saying, "May I interrupt? Exactly WHO ARE YOU, again?" I'm not very knowledgeable about the Kennedy Administration (I was born in '68), but I know I've never heard of Kenny O'Donnell. The man is enlarged to fictitious proportions, and it detracts from the sense of urgent realism that the filmmakers meticulously and quite brilliantly build up. As portrayed in *Thirteen Days*, O'Donnell is a crucial figure, bucking up Jack with pep talks when he gets weary with his backaches and his generals, offering never-wrong policy advice to both brothers, sitting in on secret meetings of the Joint Chiefs . . . all in all, basically running the country. One suspects that this would've been a pretty different movie if a Big Star hadn't been attached to it (on the other hand, the movie wouldn't have got made). At any rate, *Thirteen Days* is a fine example of education-as-entertainment. (The business about whether to pull out missiles from Turkey was particularly fascinating.) In fact, high school history teachers could use this movie as an educational tool to help students learn about the Kennedy years.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: This movie has to be one of the best movies so far for 2001. I am glad to see that Kevin Costner has gotten himself involved in a good movie for a change. This was an excellent portait of the actual events from history. A must see for anyone interested in our history. The only that thing was kind of weird was that throughout the movie we could see the boom mic entering the screen at the top. It was rather strange. Almost like they just did not have time to coompletely edit the movie. It looks as tho they have corrected this in the DVD release tho. This would be a good movie for almost any age group. Esp. any students that are currently discussing this topic in their history classes. I am not very good at these movie reviews but I think you will get the jist of it. Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older
Rating:
Summary: 13 Days Is That Good
Review: Thirteen Days actually depicts the events that took place surrounding the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962. What makes the DVD so interesting is how it shows how the Kennedy adminstration saved American from being wiped out by nuclear missiles that were located in Cuba by American spy planes. The "inifinifilm" feature actually makes the story more interesting by including commentaries from the actual adminstration and actual speeches from JFK and Salinger. I suggest you check this out.
Rating: 
Summary: Good movie, bad military portrayal
Review: I really liked this movie for its historical accuracy, however, the portrayal of the military as conniving and deceptive is totally inaccurate. It's well known that Kevin Costner is somewhat anti-military and he definitely made the chiefs of staff look like they were trying to start a war. That's not it at all. If you look beyond that, though, I highly recommend it for any history buff.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely gripping
Review: I was 10 years old in 1962, and remember being terrified whenever a plane flew overhead, because I thought it might be a Soviet bomber ready to start WWIII. For years I never knew what caused this terror. Everything clicked when I watched this movie: the tense days during the stand-off, the newspaper headlines and Walter Cronkite on TV, the safety drills at school. This is a gripping movie, well-acted, with some terrific cinematograpy. You'll forget that you know how it's going to end. The Infinifilm features are a real bonus - what DVD should be.
Rating: 
Summary: Should have been titled "The Kenneth O'Donnel Story"
Review: Keven Costner attempt to adopt a New England accent was a total distraction to the enjoyment of this movie. Costner was in virtualy every scene shot in this presentation and the Kennedy's were portrayed as merely incidental to Costner's "O'Donnel" character. If one is to beleive this attempt at telling a story to an actual historical happening then one must believe that Kenneth O'Donnel made all the momentous decisions affecting this crisis. The "Cuban Missle Crisis" was a sub-plot in this film, as evidenced by the total absence of V.P. Lyndon Johnson in this attempt at story telling. Save Your Money!
Rating:
Summary: Worth it for the story
Review: If you can get past Kevin Costner's godawful attempt at sounding like a Kennedy (a dialect or accent no other humans on the face of the earth have ever spoken with, and one none of us should have to suffer through further), the story is fascinating. While the film tries its best to engender our sympathies in Bobby and JFK, the facts shine through and we realize (I hope) that a) the Military-Industrial Complex really had both the Administration (where did McNamara come from again? oh, yeah, Ford Motors) and the country by the short hairs, and b) the Kennedy brothers were Machiavellian schemers and self-aggrandizers of the highest order (it was probably only Ike's decorum that kept him from warning the country about these bumbling brothers along with the MIC), whose Cuban adventures, beyond this crisis, would make for another great intrigue film. The use of subtitles to identify government officials was very helpful, and the stakes of all the scheming--nothing less than the fate of the planet, quite frankly--keep this a relevant and important story, the kind of thing Oliver Stone might do if he could mute his polemics a little more effectively, the kind of thing that makes you want to read the historical record to find what we can know about what did or didn't really happen. The actor who played JFK did a nice job of underplaying the role, a clue Costner might have picked up on. I thought the emphasis upon the men at the pointy end of foreign policy, specifically the fliers, was excellent, and that the flight sequences were great--sometimes Hollywood "action" can have serious narrative point and weight. A trivial question, though: why didn't they mention Wally Schirra's Mercury flight? It seemed to fit their motif of dangerous, ambiguous "launches" surrounding the dread of the one launch that could have ended all launches forever.
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