I think I’ll have to keep this review brief, as I don’t know
how much an average viewer like me can say about an incredible and
revolutionary movie like Gravity. I’m sure you were all planning on seeing it
anyway, but in case you were in doubt, GO!
Gravity stars Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, and… that’s
pretty much it. But with two such brilliant actors, who needs anyone else?
Sandra Bullock is exceptional. Like with all her characters, she plays Dr Ryan
Stone as an astronaut with a big heart, a smart brain, and a huge amount of
courage. And George? He’s George, which is fine by me.
If you’ve watched television recently, you will have
probably seen the trailer for Gravity. I won’t be giving too much away by
saying that the scene shown in the trailer is the opening of the film. Dr Stone
and veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (Clooney) are servicing the Hubble Space
Telescope when they receive messages from Houston that debris from a Russian
missile launch gone wrong is heading their way. In the chaos trying to save
herself and her work, Stone becomes detached from the telescope and Kowalski,
and when spiralling further and further into space, she begins to lose contact,
and all hope.
The CGI used in Gravity are out of this world (pun COMPLETELY
intended). As we left the cinema, I heard a woman turn to her friend and say,
“Yes, well that bit was simulation”. Um, YEAH! I see now that director Alfonso Cuarón and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki have previously worked on a number
of films together. What an incredible pairing of visions. Not only is the
setting completely believable for every Joe Bloggs sitting in the audience, but
I’ve heard that when viewing it, actual astronauts also agreed that it was as
true to the real thing as you can get. You aren’t going to get slip-ups and
bloopers like you do in other sci-fi movies (Apparently in Apollo 13 a NASA
logo was used that hadn’t been invented at the time the film was set…). New
technologies were created in order to produce Gravity, which is a brave move for Cuarón, but for Sandra Bullock too – she told Jonathan Ross in an interview
that after filming a scene in a particular contraption, she was told that the
previous test had been carried out by a crash dummy, who hadn’t ‘survived’ the
experience…
Although Gravity is ground-breaking, it doesn’t need to be
three hours long like Avatar to draw you in. The movie is half that at only 90
minutes, and I think, just as amazing. Probably one of the things that
impressed me most, though it may sound insignificant in the grand scheme of
things, were the small details, for one, the reflections in the astronauts
helmets! If you’re someone who looks out for the stray cameraman in car windows
when watching films, you’ll get me.
As a viewer, you really do feel like you’re moving with the
actors on screen, which is emotive when they’re weightless in space. In one
scene, it took me a good few seconds to realize we were watching Sandra Bullock
floating upside down. You’re brought into the moment with them with little tricks
like a splash of water landing on the camera, or there’s a lens flare. Also for
most of the film you’re watching in real time. Of course it helps that the
movie is in 3D, but you can always tell 3D’s at its best when you forget about
it – then suddenly a piece of space-station debris causes you to duck!
Well, look at that. It wasn’t very brief at all. What an
amazing film, I advise everyone to go and see it. The overall plot may be
simple, but it’s a rollercoaster of a journey, and moving in multiple dimensions.
I was planning on leaving the cinema, going back home, and watching all the
behind-the-scenes clips, but to be honest, I haven’t - I wouldn’t want to spoil
the magic for myself.
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