Everything I seem to read about this suggests it will be one of the films of the year and a shoo in for Oscar glory. Safe to say my expectations were rather high when I went to see this.
Sandra Bullock and George Clooney star as astronauts caught out when a space walk is interrupted by debris from a Russian satellite (don’t you just hate it when that happens?). With Oxygen running low and a second wave of debris on the way they have to find a way to survive.
As the first film I’ve seen in Imax 3D I have to say it was well worth it! The opening scene of watching Earth from space is breathtaking, Clooney’s Matt is right when he says it’s a beautiful sight. The visuals throughout this film is amazing, no doubt this film will win big in the special effect awards.
It’s not just the visuals that were impressive, the film is brilliantly directed by Alfonso Cuaron. Whether its a wide shot of space or pov shots from the astronauts you are completely captured by the film. The camera often follows the astronauts as they move through space, often losing control-so prepared to feel very dizzy by Sandra Bullock floating around and around in circles. The film is so tense I often found myself short of breath as I was so concerned for the characters lack of oxygen I was forgetting to breathe.
George Clooney is strong as veteran astronaut Matt, going from his usual Clooney cheeky, funny self, to being calm and direct when instructing Bullock’s nervy rookie Ryan. Bullock handles the challenges of the film well, intense close-ups for long periods showing Ryan’s distress, giving potentially cheesy monologues to herself which she deals with aplomb.
Sometimes the film felt more like an endurance than something I could sit down and enjoy. But there’s no denying there’s something special about Gravity and it fully deserves all the praise I’ve been reading about it.
Rating 4/5-spectacular visuals and great acting brings this space drama to life