At the Theater - "Gravity" - 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Alien, Aliens, Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, Moon and now Gravity... yeah, I'm OK with placing it amongst the greatest "space" films of all time. Gravity is the tale of a catastrophic event that leaves two astronauts stranded in space and fighting for survival- it's a thrilling merger of razor sharp visuals and sound effects excellence (even though it's often appropriately muted), with outstanding Direction from Alfonso Cuaron (Children Of Men) and a flawless performance from Sandra Bullock. Beware- it's the most tense cinematic roller coaster ride in many a moon, with a wealth of extremely long, swirling, spinning shots that may find some audience members a bit queasy. I found myself gritting my teeth with the numerous occasions of near-miss disasters.
Sandra Bullock's (The Heat) performance, as medical engineer "Ryan Stone", is more of an emotional journey, with this brisk, simplistic tale of survival relying heavily on audience familiarity with the Actress and her subsequent body of work- there simply isn't enough time or opportunity to build a highly memorable character. That said, the film simply wouldn't work without a considerable talent gifted with inherent charisma and she's excellent with what she's given. Her character represents the will to live in all of us, even when thrown into the most dismal of situations. I quickly found myself transported and involved, wondering where my/Sandy's next breath of oxygen would come from...
Though George Clooney (Out of Sight) is reduced to support here as the seasoned astronaut and calming presence assisting our Heroine, he puts in great work as "Matt Kowalski". There is one strangely poignant, crowd-pleasing scene involving his character that will undoubtedly throw (first-time) viewers for a loop. I wish there had been more of him. Most will recognize Ed Harris supplying the voice work as "Houston"/mission control.
Expect a host of awesome visuals (loved the shout-out to 2001) and a great deal of long, impressive cuts courtesy of Director Alfonso Cuaron and Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, with a very cool, often hair-raisingly ominous electro-score from Composer Steven Price. Gravity's 3D lands somewhere between good and very good and I'm torn in recommending it as essential- though it isn't gimmicky and occasionally does add to the overall experience. This is, however, a special effects-heavy event film that demands to be viewed in a quality theater- my only knock against it is it's relatively short run-time (for the genre) of 90 minutes. Hold on tight and, of course, don't let go...
Highly Recommended
(Kinda cool that I saw this on Sigourney Weaver's Birthday...)
9.5 out of 10
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney and Ed Harris
Running Time: 91 minutes
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense perilous sequences, some disturbing images and brief strong language
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