My thoughts...
Gravity is the story of Sandra
Bullock, as Dr. Ryan Stone, and
George Clooney, as Matt Kowalsky, as
they work together to try and survive after an accident leaves them adrift in
outer space.
My initial reaction after watching this film was
just, "eh". I wasn't overly thrilled with it, but I didn't feel it
was a complete waste of my time either.
The story starts out in space with Dr. Stone and
Kowalsky floating around their spaceship; Dr. Stone making repairs to the ship
and Kowalsky attempting to set a world record for minutes spent treading in
space. There’s no backstory… No setup… Nothing... Okay. So then, an emergency
abort mission is called in through Kowalsky and Dr. Stone’s headsets from
Mission Control in Houston and they’re told to return to the ship immediately.
Right from the get go, our main characters lives are in immediate danger and we're
all of a sudden supposed to care about these characters without knowing
anything about them? That was problem number one for me.
I did like Dr. Ryan and Kowalsky as characters,
but without a backstory, I didn’t have much reason to care for their
well-bring. That may sound harsh, but, let’s face it, caring about a character
is the essence of a movie. When you connect with a character on an emotional
level and something tragic happens, you’re able to empathize with that person
as though it’s happening to you. This movie just skimmed right over that part.
Gravity was almost like a
crossword puzzle to me; there were blanks that needed to be filled in. The lines of the characters fed the plot
right to our ears- not giving us, the audience, a chance to think for
ourselves; this is known as exposition. Personally I would have preferred a
more creative way of receiving the back-story on the film’s two main
characters. Especially, since we only
know them as astronauts in space.
Although I understood each theme of the film, it
felt as though they, too, were spoon fed to the audience. Overall, I think it
had good vision, but the execution was not all there for me.
I will say it’s very eerie watching these
characters interact in space. The dead silence spoke louder than any words
could have; but again, its impact was lost the moment the characters also
commented on it. As if we couldn’t
figure it out ourselves…
As I was once told, "A good film should be
able to be told no matter where the characters are. In a desert, on a ship, or
in prison. Doesn't matter." The pure truth of Gravity is this: In my opinion, I don’t think this film would’ve survived
in any other setting; and that's a problem. Space played a big part in this
film, but I think the filmmakers relied on it too much.
What I Liked:
1. The Idea: As I said in the
review, the skeleton of the film was there and the foundation was laid, the
building was just never built correctly. But it was a fascinating idea.
2. The Camera: I don't know
HOW they did it, but I thought I was in space for 90 minutes. It was gorgeous
and very convincing. I saw it in 3D and it’s definitely worth the few extra
dollars. SIDE NOTE: If you are prone to motion sickness, be careful. There's
more spinning than the teacup ride at Walt Disney World.
3. The Acting: Bullock and
Clooney’s performances were both very good. It was unfortunate the director
didn’t do their acting skills justice.
What I Didn't Like:
1. Lack of Backstory: I can't
stress this enough. If there's nothing giving the audience a reason to care,
it's a forgettable film.
2. The Dream: Really? That was
a dream? What was the point? So she realized how to overcome the problem?
Again, forced information. And that's a sub point I didn't like, the force-fed
information. It infested this film and ultimately weakened it.
3. The Ending: I'm talking the
end, end. I won't spoil it, but when you see it, you'll wonder, "REALLY?!
Of ALL places?!" I'm trying to stay as vague as possible.
Go see it? I would say it was worth my time, but
it may not be worth the price of a movie ticket. If you do decide to go see it,
go all out, get the 3D tickets.
An Oscar nod? There is a lot of stir about Oscar
nods for both Bullock and Clooney and possibly Emmanuel Lubezki for his
cinematography work. None of which surprises me as I applauded all three of
their work!
Overall Rating: 2.5/4 Stars
These are my thoughts... Not yours!
- Big Red
Gravity Official Trailer
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