Apollo 13/YMMV

"Krantz: What about the scrubbers on the command module? Engineer 1: They take square cartridges... Engineer 2: ...and the ones on the LEM are round. Beat. Krantz: Tell me this isn't a government operation."
 * Crosses the Line Twice: Potentially running out of oxygen and suffering from asphyxiation from too much carbon dioxide? Rather terrifying prospect. Discovering that the filters for the command module won't work in the lunar excursion module? Kind of funny, but also rather worrying. Krantz's response? Hilarious.


 * They have to literally fit a square peg into a round hole. The literal cliche there is just too much to not snicker at.
 * The fact that he literally facepalms just makes it that much better.
 * Crowning Music of Awesome: The whole score. Particularly the liftoff and reentry. Much like his score for The Rocketeer, James Horner really captures the wonder of flight. He would soon do Titanic, and it shows.
 * Newer Than They Think: The tradition of astronauts saying their goodbyes to friends and loved ones at the launchpad the night before liftoff actually started with the space shuttle era.
 * Nightmare Fuel:
 * The prologue, showing the doomed crew of Apollo 1 banging on the hatch window, attempting to get out of the burning capsule. Then the glove goes back into the fire...
 * Marilyn's nightmare before the actual mission,
 * Visual Effects of Awesome: They even managed to fool the NASA guys who worked on that launch. NASA's public relations department, represented by Buzz freakin' Aldrin, asked for permission to use clips from the movie.
 * This was after Buzz asked where they had gotten this footage, because it was so realistic they fooled a man who had been in the Apollo Program.
 * There's also Makeup, Costume, and Cast Selection Effects of Awesome: Ed Harris playing Gene Kranz looks literally exactly like him, or at least exactly like him circa 1970; put photos of the two side-by-side and you would not be able to tell the difference. Also, Kranz's wife made him a vest to wear for each mission (he's seen removing it from the box before launch); they simply borrowed the original and had Harris wear it.
 * Kevin Bacon also comes close looking like Jack Swigert.