Gravity – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

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Overview

A movie which relies more so on special effects than substance.

Trigger Warning(s): Jump Scare depicting body frozen to death

Review (with Spoilers)

I saw this film out of curiosity since it made over half a billion dollars, and since I don’t think I have seen a film about someone drifting, or stuck, in space since Moon came out about 4 years ago. Then, to add onto the interest of seeing the film, Sandra Bullock is in it and Neil deGrasse Tyson tweeted about it, albeit its inaccuracies, but still he said he enjoyed it overall. So with an actress who rarely fails, in modern times, and an astrophysicist I quite admire, I thought why not?

Characters & Story

Gravity is similar to I Am Legend, in a way, for most of the film features one sole actor, in this case actress, who we focus on. Said character is Dr. Ryan Stone (played by Sondra Bullock) who we learn very little about, besides she lost her child when she was 4 and now is working in space. Alongside her, for maybe 20 minutes to a half hour, is Matt Kowalski (played by George Clooney) who is Clooney’s usual go to charming character but, again, someone we don’t learn much about.

As for the story, all 90 minutes of it deal with Dr. Stone trying to get home after a Russian satellite is destroyed and creates space debris which makes getting to earth nearly seem impossible. Add Matt sacrificing himself for Dr. Stone and then you have this inexperienced Dr. who you are left with, and a movie focused on us wondering if she may end up another causality or may return home?

Praise

When it comes to praise, the almost sole thing worth praising are the visuals. One thing Dr. Tyson noted is that the film truly, visually, is stunning and can inspire someone to want to learn more about space. I’d even say that if a TV company wanted to advertise their latest 4K or 3D screen, this would be the go-to movie for it.

Criticism

But, to me, outside of the visuals in the film, the rest was boring. From the dialog to the characters, I just felt there was no real attempt to have the audience connect with the characters. Dr. Stone has no real personality and while we are given that one tidbit about her daughter, outside of that she has nothing to draw you to her. And in comparison to other films which rely heavily on one sole actor, like I Am Legend, even her trials and tribulations don’t really get you interested in her. If anything, it just makes you want to praise the special effects members and the cinematographers, but certainly not Bullock.

Overall: TV Viewing

I have no regrets not seeing this in theaters. If I want to see a high definition look of space, there are museums and other places to go which specialize in this topic and can explain things to me. As for Gravity, though I’m sure I am in the minority, I think all it has is its visual appeal and everything else is lacking. Hence why I say it is for TV viewing, especially if you have one of the newer TV sets. Otherwise, I would dare even say to skip it.