Hatchet reporter Ben Marks shares his latest cinematic experience.
“Gravity” 2013
★★★★✰
Sci-fi may have entered its renaissance age with the release of Alfonso Cuarón’s “Gravity.”
As of Sunday morning, the film has received a remarkable 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and is projected to earn around $40 million at the U.S. box office this weekend. Many are already considering Cuarón, Sandra Bullock, and the special effects team to be sure-fire Oscar nominees.
“Gravity” stars Bullock as Dr. Ryan Stone, a bio-medical engineer on her first space mission. Accompanied by veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), Stone quickly encounters trouble when debris from a Russian satellite crashes into the space shuttle, killing most of the astronauts on-board. What follows is an epic test of the human spirit, as Stone must find a way to survive in one of the harshest environments known to man: outer space.
Bullock and Clooney work very well off each other. Bullock’s character is serious and always dedicated to the mission. Clooney’s, on the other hand, is more interested in breaking the space-walking record. Even in the face of terror, Kowalski consistently finds a way to comfort Stone (usually with a joke about his good-looks). Despite the good chemistry and acting, the character development in the movie was mediocre at best. All of Stone’s backstory is told to us in the course of three or four forced conversations.
Though it sounds cliche, the 3D in the film really allows the audience to feel like they’re hundreds of miles above the Earth, trying to survive like Stone. At any given moment, a ray of light will shine through the screen, or a pen will float by, or a giant piece of space debris will come flying at your head.
Recently, few, if any, original space films have achieved critical and box office success. Duncan Jones’ “Moon” attempted to end this slump, but other films like “Apollo 18” only further depressed the genre. However, with the clear success of “Gravity” it seems space movie fans may finally have something to cheer for.
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi,
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
Release Date: Oct. 4
