My first glimpse of the movie Gravity was during the screening of The Great Gatsby. I remember this weird trailer that came on about some astronauts in space and the preview’s ending scene of one of the astronauts spinning off into space caused the entire theater to burst into laughter. I wrote it off mentally in my head, not thinking much about it until this past weekend, when I started to hear some serious positive buzz about the movie. I’ve just gotten back from the movie, and I have never been so wrong about a movie before in my life. Gravity is the best movie of the year (let’s see if some other promising movies change this statement) and is possibly one of the best sci-fi movies in modern film history.
That’s quite a bold statement, right? And time will tell whether this is true, but I definitely enjoyed all aspects of the film. The story centers on Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), two astronauts doing a routine service job on the Hubble Telescope when they suddenly find themselves dealing with a space catastrophe. The movie is a masterful execution of flawless cinematography, a compelling story with plenty of heart attack-inducing moments and drama, and an amazing soundtrack. I was literally on the edge of my seat as the story shifted from one crazy occurrence to another, and I had that lump-in-the-throat sensation from all the tear-jerking scenes.
I have to especially commend the cast of amazing actors/actresses. Sandra Bullock in particular did not disappoint, and I daresay her performance was Oscar-worthy. How she manages to capture the realism of actually being in space is beyond me – all I know was that I did not for one instance doubt that they were in space! And even though the movie could’ve taken the easy route and just roll with the action and suspense, it also did a great job developing the characters and exploring deeper themes of life and death, resilience in the face of calamity, and learning to live and let go.
This film was so good that my mind starting to draw some comparisons to 2001: A Space Odyssey, definitively one of the greatest sci-fi and space movies of all time. There were even some key scenes that paid homage to the original scenes of Kubrick’s 2001, from the image of the floating baby to the final space-travel scene. I think Gravity sets itself apart by being not just artsy and well-executed, but also very accessible to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Whereas 2001 seemed to draw the high-art crowd, Gravity‘s biggest success is making an amazing movie that’s equally easy to understand and identify with on an emotional level.
Watch it – it might even be worth the few extra bucks to see it in 3D. I guarantee you that it will be time well spent!
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