Gravity

Over hyped or Complete Genius?



Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Release Date: 2013
Rating: 12
Running Time: 91 mins
Genre: Sci-fi/Drama
Actors: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris

'Don't Let Go'

Sandra Bullock gives the performance of her career in this tense and wonderfully original sci-fi drama. When disaster hits a group of astronauts in orbit around the earth, Dr Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Lt. Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) completely cut off from everything, must rely on each other to survive and get back home. The film will really play with your emotions and grab you in such a deep way. It's very easy for 'Gravity' to pull you into the action.

The incredible direction and editing in this film is truly captivating, with interesting camera techniques and angles used throughout. The camera places you in orbit with the astronauts and follows Dr. Ryan Scott on her incredible and devastating adventure in space and she desperately battles to get home. George Clooney gives a fantastic supporting role in this film finding the perfect balance of humour and compassion in what could also possibly be his best role to date also. Yup, these two actors have come along way from 'Miss Congeniality' and 'Oceans Twelve', two fairly entertaining films, but ones that place 'Gravity' on a whole other level. Ed Harris also returns after 'Apollo 13' to once again play the role of 'Huston' on the earth down bellow, and despite not actually seeing the actor, he still gives a very good performance none the less.

The CGI and special effects in 'Gravity' are, dare I say it, out of this world and are truly mesmerizing. They are able to show space on a whole new level but with a film to other films such as '2001: A Space Odyssey' and 'Apollo 13', with a tribute or two to other sci-fi's such as Alien. It's that there was a lot of work that went into perfecting the technology in this film given that it took 4 years to invent and launch onto our screens and the film on the whole is so reliant on it. The Effects tied in with the editing and direction will probably make you feel slightly dizzy and maybe a bit motion sick, which doesn't help with it being in 3D, but it is filmed so cleverly it's easy to look past all this and the 3D makes it feel so much more real and exciting.

It's safe to say that 'Gravity' will be able to show audiences the beauty, the silence, the danger, the hardship and the incredible journey that people go on when experiencing space, as well as maybe putting a few people off going to visit the moon any time soon. Despite all this, I must say I did find the narrative begin to drag half way through and you do begin to wonder where the film is actually going to end up as it's so unpredictable, but it is safe to say that it is a visual masterpiece and one of the best and most original films to come out of Hollywood in along time. Some people will of course view it as another Sci-fi blockbuster about a group of marooned astronauts, but it is safe to say the film does go much deeper than this. Whatever your opinion is, it's still a film to see in 3D on the big screen as it is so incredibly filmed and is honestly the next best thing to going to space.

8/10