30 Oscar losers that should have been Oscar winners

Apollo 13 losing to Braveheart – Best Picture (1996)

The Winner

Braveheart, the rousing tale of the Scottish hero William Wallace. He led a rebellion against the English in the 13^th century, but in the 20^th century, he’s Mel Gibson. It’s also directed and produced by Mel Gibson and features…pretty much no one else.

The Loser

Apollo 13, the story of the third mission to the moon and the astronauts who never got there. Ron Howard directed. The astronauts were played by Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, and Gary Sinise (as the one who gets exposed to the measles and can’t go).

Why It Was Wrong

Braveheart in itself is a fine movie, sure. But I myself far prefer an in-depth story of a few characters to a sprawling epic. I don’t care about William Wallace, not really, because the movie doesn’t make me care about him. He’s a classic, mythological superhero character. He does no wrong and he dies a martyr.

But Apollo 13 is about a different kind of fight. All of the major characters in the story are flawed, with pride, doubt, and anger. They are all trying to figure out how to get home alive, and none of them think they’re going to make it. The astronauts as characters are explored much more deeply than William Wallace or anyone else in Gibson’s movie.

Both movies feature true stories from history, but the way these stories are told sets them apart. Braveheart is about vague ideas – patriotism, freedom, etc. You can’t really relate to William Wallace, because he’s not a real person. He’s an idea. Apollo 13 is about people. And that’s why it’s hands-down better.