A highly praised film that brought in over $700 million box office, 2013’s “Gravity” is a film that I not only expected to hate, but actually wanted to hate. It wasn’t until I read a review here on WordPress for the film, that I decided to give it chance. But I will admit that I was still in a negative mindset when I hit the play button.
The story: Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) are on a space shuttle mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. They are informed of a Russian missile strike on a satellite that was no longer in order. The debris however, is in cloud form moving through space at a very high rate of speed. Originally it was though that this wouldn’t affect the mission, however it is soon aborted and contact with mission control is lost.
Evaluation: The opening scene filled my inner being with irritation as I watched the shuttle and the astronauts slowly grow closer to the screen as they “floated” through space. Oh how much I already hated it. All I knew is that I still wanted to give it a chance given all of the strong, solid reviews. Here’s the thing though…I actually came to like it. Even with a strong mindset against the movie all the way to the end, I simply smiled when it was over, and said to myself, “not bad at all”.
I’m fortunate enough to have my own home theater with a huge screen/projector connected to a blu-ray home theater system, and it’s my biggest belief that this is what made the movie a good experience for me. It just wouldn’t have been the same on a television, HD or not. Either way, the intensity is what I loved most about the film. As I sat there watching it, I would try not to give in to the movie, but couldn’t help but tensing up during a few of the scenes. And at the very end of the film, after an hour and a half of intensity and character suffrage (with a few boring parts as well I’ll add), it was just breathtaking to finally see the luscious earth, from earth that is.
Abstract Breakdown.
Humor: N/A
Realism: 9/10
Emotion: 9/10 (Mainly speaking to the film’s intensity)
Cast: 9/10
Music: 9/10 (The were a couple parts, especially towards the end, where the music totally aided the experience)
Setting: N/A
Quality: 9/10
Originality: 8/10
Total Abstract Rating: 90% There were some dull parts, but the movie handles well at keeping your attention.
Thanks for reading, and see the trailer below!
I was bored senseless at times, and the dialogue was awful, but I’d be a failure as a critic to dismiss it as a bad film. Certainly an cinematic achievement! One thing I must disagree with a tad is realism. Maybe in terms of physics, and scientific accuracy being impressively detailed for a work of fiction, but in reality, an astronaut like Stone would never have been sent to space knowing as little as she did.
Your absolutely right about Dr. Stone. I don’t always specify what I’m actually or specifically judging on some of my breakdown categories.