I'm just shaking my head right now. I swear that this was done by the same guy that did Buried. But it's not the same guy. This movie is note-for-note exactly like Buried. Gravity is a very standard story about things going bad in space.
I'll get into why I didn't like this movie in a minute but let's start with the positives. The visuals are stunning. Everything in how it looks feels genuine. It really looks like it was filmed in outer space. This is a movie that deserves an award for visuals. Another thing I liked was the realism they tried to have. While I didn't think it worked, I applaud the effort. This was really trying to grasp the horror of being marooned in space. More on this later. The acting was superb. Again, while I thought the writing was subpar, Sandra Bullock and George Clooney made every effort to make it work. More on the story later. The movie was absolutely intended for 3D. I don't know how you can enjoy this movie without the 3D. There's so much flying at the camera I'm sure it would look terrible in 2D. Luckily I saw it in 3D and it looks awesome.
There are some positives to take away.
Now here's why I didn't like it.
Let's start with the most obvious: the musical score. Every single note was loud and filled with tension and it just artificially enhanced the drama of the scene. And after a while it just became too much.
It's a 90 minute movie and nothing ever goes well for our heroes. Because it's a 90 minute movie the pacing is always frantic. Even when she's allowed a few moments of peace, there is no peace. The goal post for safety keeps getting moved back. While that might not sound bad a first, it is when you are a viewer. There was enough material here for a two hour movie and it was all crammed into an hour and a half. There's never enough time to digest what just happened. When that happens, the atmosphere they are trying to go for just becomes a series of "oh s***" moments. That's the movie: Pretty stuff, "oh s***", phew, "oh s***", phew, "oh s***"... lather, rinse, repeat. And those 'phew' moments really are just that. They are not very long pauses.
There's one particular scene I have to talk about just because I felt like the director tried to get too cute for his own good. That would be the starchild scene. Yes you read that part right. They took the starchild from 2001: A Space Odyssey and put it in this movie. The theme of Gravity is heavily on the idea of rebirth after a traumatic incident. How adversity gives us new appreciation for life. It's a nice theme to explore but it has to have the time to develop. I don't feel like this movie was given that proper pacing. And then this scene happened. I won't get too critical about it because it does fit in terms of theme, but invoking a movie like 2001: A Space Odyssey like this doesn't do anyone any favors. The starchild in 2001 was about more than a personal rebirth. It was about a whole new beginning for the human race. It was such a metaphysical concept that (I feel) when invoked detracts from the argument you are trying to make.
While I didn't enjoy the movie I can see that I might be in the minority on this one. There's lots of action, a lot of drama, and it's just a visually pleasing movie. I just became overwhelmed by the kinetic energy of it all. I felt like it needed a break in the action. It needed more time for the symbolic imagery to develop naturally. Instead everything feels forced as it rushes to it's finale.
Perhaps you will enjoy it. There are things to enjoy.
