Get Pulled In by "Gravity"

Like the film about which I am writing, this review will be short and to the point. Amongst sci-fi blockbusters of the past ten years, Alfonso Cuaron’s “Gravity” ranks highly as it primarily focuses on the action of the story and does not get sidetracked by annoyingly uninteresting subplots. The audience is introduced to the main characters, all two of them, two astronauts, Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney). About ten minutes into the film, after the two astronauts and the short-lived third member of the crew have been working on repairing a satellite, they receive a message from mission control (voiced with what I suspect may be a wink to the audience by Ed Harris who you may remember from “The Right Stuff” and “Apollo 13,”) that space debris is headed their way and is on a collision course with the satellite. The remainder of the film is about Stone and Kowalski’s attempts to get back to Earth. It’s a simple story, but told with a great deal of suspense and outstanding visual effects. Clooney and Bullock are excellent in their roles.

They do not ham it up at any point, making you realize you are watching two big-time actors. Their performances are so good that I never thought about the fact that I was watching George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. The absence of subplots and tedious back story adds urgency to the film so the focus may be on what is going on. Screenwriters, father and son, Alfonso and Jonas Cuaron, understand that being stranded in space is enough plot and anything more would be extraneous and detrimental to the flow of the film. Sometimes brevity and succinctness are the best policies. If possible, see “Gravity” in 3-D, as the visual effects are very good, though, not as many objects or space stuff flew into my face as I wished. To compare, the 3-D in “Gravity” was not as good as the 3-D in “Avatar” or “Star Trek Into Darkness,” however, it was more impressive than the 3-D effects in “Hugo” or “The Hobbit.” “Gravity” is suspenseful and complex in its brevity, a trait I wish more screenplays would adopt. It is by no means a brilliant film, however, it is very entertaining and worthy of a visit to a theater, where one should see the film, if at all possible. I was pulled in by “Gravity” and I think most who see it will be as well.