After rave reviews by… well, many sources, I decided to abandon plans to “just” go and see Sandra Bullock’s latest film Gravity in 2D and instead headed to one of the small, hobbit hole cinemas in the Embassy complex to see the film in its 3D version.
But in 2D or 3D, the film is awesome.
As one of the less impressed members of the party observed, there’s not a lot of characterisation that goes on throughout the film. From go to woah, it is a rollercoaster ride of action, with the odd lulls in between the major loops and twists that put the extreme danger and distance at which everything occurs into perspective.
And considering it all (well, mostly) takes place in orbit around the Earth, the danger and distance and perspective are all awe inspiring. Visually, the film is incredible, the special effects blending in so well with the live actors that it is hard to believe that they are not all out space walking. The 3D throws debris at the audience, but once again, I kind of “forgot” that after a while, and was never really covering my eyes or anything – but that is not a criticism. I think I was just so impressed with the effects that I was not going to look away for anything.
Putting Bullock and the effortlessly charming George Clooney in the lead roles was also a stroke of genius. Bullock is just brilliant for this role, and the film reminded me a lot of her earlier classic, Speed, although this time she didn’t have a Keanu Reeves to riff with (true, Clooney is much better, but this is not his film) and the film was not let down by a disappointing third act. Everything gels, nothing is wasted, Bullock looks great and is completely engaging despite the lack of character development, as aforementioned.
About the only thing that I had a slight quibble with was the set up: the USA does not currently have a shuttle programme, the Russians get the blame for everything that goes wrong, and I am not sure the Chinese space programme is really at the point the film implies (though this is apparently very smart marketing on the part of the filmmakers).
But that is only a quibble – this is fiction after all, and someone has to get the blame for the accident that causes all the excitement (I was surprised the French / European Space Agency, but perhaps that was one space agency too may).
Otherwise, the film is an action masterpiece, completely suited to a big screen presentation and totally worth the 3D admission price. What I am saying is…
Verdict: Action. Bullock. Clooney. Disaster. Excitement. Five gravities out of 5. Gravity.
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