So... Gravity... in 3D. I guess Ill start off by saying that, while I did enjoy it, I think I wasnt quite as enthused about it as most critics are. The first act was undoubtedly the strongest part. Despite the oddly unprofessional antics of the astronauts, and the sheer nonsense of the initial disaster, the first act is absolutely thrilling. Its really something to experience the lack of sound in space, the incredibly long takes, and the surprisingly subtle way in which things start to go really bad. I think I found the movie a bit less interesting during the rest of the film. There are definitely a number of great moments, but I felt that the movie had a hard time living up to the initial power of that first act. I suppose it also doesnt help that I didnt find Sandra Bullocks character particularly interesting, and she spends most of the second and third acts on her own. Im not sure whether it was the performance or the writing, but George Clooneys character was more interesting. Bullocks character is supposed to be going through this emotional journey throughout the film, and for some reason I never ended up empathizing with her as much as I was meant to. Her journey felt forced to me. Naturally, the finale didnt have the impact that it ought to have. Ive never really liked Bullock, I suppose, so I could easily be biased against her. I also found myself nitpicking some of the science in the film. The idea of the disaster itself is beyond ridiculous. I cannot even fathom how such a thing could happen. Thats a big issue. The rest of the issues are fairly minor in comparison. The movie gets a lot of things beautifully right, but there were moments where it seemed to deviate from what would technically happen in space simply to service the plot, and those moments made me cringe. As well, the characters can sometimes seem a bit Hollywoodized compared to real astronauts. Still, the movie is undeniably suspenseful and spectacular. Alfonso Cuarons masterful direction is the movies greatest strength. The rest of the movie after the first act is a bit of a step down from that powerhouse first act (though still possessing a number of spectacular moments), and some of the character drama that rested on Bullocks ability to carry the film didnt work so well for me, but its fairly rare to get an outer space movie thats this good, so Im trying to be as forgiving toward it as possible.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 03:29:24 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015