In the three weeks since its release, critics and audiences the world over have apparently embraced director Alfonso Cuaron's 90-minute thriller Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts in extreme peril. I saw the film myself over two weekends ago but have had little time to churn out a review.
The story is simple; a group of astronauts including Dr. Ryan Stone (Bullock) and Lt. Matt Kowalski (Clooney), and a number of actors who basically just lend their voices, are on a mission in space installing new hardware on a satellite when they are struck by the falling debris of a Russian satellite that has been destroyed as part of Russia's efforts to clean the skies of its derelict satellites. Chaos and death ensue, and before they know it Stone and Clooney find themselves falling to earth and basically scrambling around for other satellites to board in order to ensure that they can survive their return to earth. They have the benefit of Kowalski's jet pack but not for very long.
I admit that I was not altogether impressed by the trailer. It appeared to be a cast of two people in peril, and I asked myself, right off the bat, how long the filmmakers could possibly sustain such a thin premise?
I will also readily admit that the answer I got to that question was: for 90 nail-biting minutes.
Full credit goes to Cuaron, Bullock, Clooney, the amazing team of visual effects artists, and composer Steven Price for managing to squeeze so much action and tension out of what was basically a reed-thin plot.
It's been a full twenty years and one Academy Award since Bullock played Sylvester Stallone's sidekick in Demolition Man, and apart from looking great for someone pushing fifty, she has really shown some serious acting chops in this film, especially considering that she and Clooney are the only actors who actually appear onscreen. I think it's fair to say that she basically carries this film (with all due respect to Clooney). Consider this Sandra Bullock's Cast Away (the 2000 Robert Zemeckis movie which, for the most part, starred Tom Hanks and a volleyball).
To my mind, the crew, especially the visual effects people and the aforementioned composer, deserve special mention, for creating an utterly believable space environment, no mean feat considering that most of the film's 90 minutes takes place in space, thus creating the very real possibility of the seams in the digital effects showing at one point or another. They never do, at least no as far as I can see. Also, unlike most blockbusters in which the visual effects are needed mainly to prop up the massive action set pieces, this film relies on sterling effects to carry the story, and the crew are up to the task.
It may seem strange that the composer gets such special mention, but there's a reason for it; this is one of the rare Hollywood films (and off the top of my head, I cannot think of any other) in which the filmmakers actually depicted the fact in space, there's no sound. There's no crashing sound as the debris hammers the space shuttle, no exploding sound as one satellite or another disintegrates upon impact with hurtling satellite fragments. Basically, it's all up to composer Price to replace all of the tension that explosions and crashes usually creates, and he does a sterling job.
It's also worth mentioning that this is the best IMAX 3-D experience I've had since Avatar. Granted, it's only the third IMAX 3-D movie I've seen since then (the other two being The Amazing Spider-Man and The Adventures of Tintin), but unlike either of those two, it made the absolute most of the format, just like James Cameron's visual feast.
I've already kind of hopped on the bandwagon of people impressed by this movie, but I will stop short of calling it a masterpiece, as technically impressive as it is. There's something oddly perfunctory about the writing; Stone's back story, which she discusses during the film, feels like an afterthought, which matters, considering that the audience is supposed to care whether these characters live or die. Kowalski's story, apart from one humorous anecdote he repeats throughout the film, is just about nonexistent. It is fortunate that the actors make up for the script's shortcomings with utter conviction in their performances, especially considering that they were probably acting against green screens most of the time.
My favorite astronauts-in-peril movie remains Ron Howard's Apollo 13, but for sheer urgency and visual effects splendor, Gravity has set a new standard. Kudos to everyone involved.
4.5/5
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