Movie Review: Gravity

Gravity (2013)

A medical engineer and an astronaut work together to survive after an accident leaves them adrift in space.  Short synopsis of Gravity taken from IMDb.com. 

Well call me crazy, but I liked it.  The plot of Gravity was interesting, the special effects were mind-blowing in places (well most of the film is one big special effect - I kept wondering if some of the zero G stuff was done on what is semi-affectionately known as the "Vomit Comet," i.e.: the big cargo aircraft that goes way up and then drops toward earth in roller coaster maneuvers, inducing weightlessness for its passengers, so as to prepare them for the real deal when they leave Earth's... well, gravity).  Yes, there were some silly parts, such as the lack of enough clothing on Sandra Bullock when she gets out of her spacesuit while on board the ISS.  And the fact that space structures and vehicles are not armored enough to withstand some of the pelting from space debris that they are shown doing in this film.  And the sheer luck of hitting water in a re-entry capsule with no pre-planned window (water landings being a necessity for capsule-type orbital re-entry vehicles).

Ok, so I've done a few jabs at some of the less-than-believable parts.  Or should I say, the parts changed so as to make the film easier to handle by the general populace.  Do any of these things detract from the overall experience though?  No sir.  The plain fact that the filmmakers took the effort to make a film based on real-world physics/space travel was really nice.  Yes, it is a "disaster pic," in the truest sense.  And yes, other films have rendered actual real-world space flight.  But this one had the good sense to try and put the audience "there."  No sound but the rapid-fire breathing of the Sandra Bullock's character as she is thrown bodily into space when the debris cloud from a destroyed Russian spy satellite hits the shuttle she is working off of.

Soyuz 11 could be made into a movie, kind of like Apollo 13 was, but it'd have a sad Russian ending instead of a happy American ending, I guess. / Source: depletedcranium.com

And Clooney's performance is quite good as well.  Sorry to put that in almost as an afterthought, but it stands just the same.  In fact, this is a movie with few character's, so the performances have to hold the movie up (yes, another semi-clever pun on the movie's title, I know).  And the two principals do their thing quite well.  In fact, even though Clooney is only being his normal "Clooney-esque" self in this film (another actor portraying what seems more to be himself than an actual dynamic individual character), it works.  If you'd put Christian Bale in instead, he'd have had to act, but Clooney just does what seems natural to him from what other films I've seen with him in them, and it clicks.

What else to say?  The film is good, and since it was a free viewing for me, it was easy to recommend.  But I'd have even seen this on the big screen.  In 3....D.... no less, had the opportunity come around when it was out.  Poverty kept my viewing to a minimum during the winter of 2013 and into early 2014, and mores the pity.

No comment from the Honest Trailer folks on Sandra Bullock being in her skivies?  Dang.  For other real life disasters having to do with space, see this Space.com article.

As always, my usual input on content.  Gravity has a touch of language, with the one obligatory PG-13 "F-bomb," as I recall.  There are some dead people, but the violence level is not terrifically high.  Or should I say "gratuitous" violence.  If you consider a cloud of debris traveling at the speed of a bullet impacting about and reeking mayhem, there ya go.  It isn't a kid's movie, but not too bad for adult-type materials.  It's a 21st century disaster movie.  That sums it up, I suppose.  Worth the rental, when it comes out on DVD (if it hasn't yet, that is - by the time this review goes public, I'm quite sure it will have).  I'd watch it again via rental.  Take that for what it is worth.

The parting comment:

Source: LOLSnaps.com

That's mean. And hilarious.