Reviews

The box office takings and the almost universal acclaim from the critics for this movie - see eg http://www.mrqe.com/movie_reviews/gravity-m100091079 would suggest that this is a must see - well here is a contrary view.

This may be from an age perspective (I was at school watching TV when that Armstrong guy sang 'I was walking on the moon one day' in July 1969) - and for the first 20 minutes we have a similar light hearted banter from G. Clooney, who while being highly space savvy is, unlike that original space larrikin, just plain annoying as he tries to emulate past heroes as he calms and guides S.Bullock through a predictable and ongoing series of high impact incidents. A handsome show off, with a serious penchant for rescuing damsels in distress, sits naturally with our George, whatever the state of his pulse.

But the movie is really about Bullock's character, and she is an actor capable of both great comedy and feeling (often within the same work) but here she is just not believable with the exception of the initial panic scenes that do get everyone's heart racing for a short time. In dealing with loss she has suffered on earth and in facing eternity in space, neither portrayal is credible.

Weaver in Aliens or Hanks in Apollo 13 - those were stories that really got to you (well, me anyway) but at the end of this its all a bit so what?

A very honorable exception for the cinematography, especially if you see it in the IMAX or 3D versions which really do give you a new perspective on space - but well deployed technology alone does not a movie make.

I give it 4 out of 10 - slightly disappointed at something that could have been so much better. I appreciate most of the world seems to disagree with my view.