Going into this film, I found myself not buying Sandra Bullock (Ryan Stone) as a astronaut or her male counterpart George Clooney (Matt Kowalski). They both proved me wrong, and Bullock gives a performance that solidifies a career. The way she handled the distress along with the pure physical toll that must have been given to her by each scene is remarkable. I can only image her in a space suit on set, hanging from wires as men spin her until her head explodes. Acting under such intense conditions is one thing, but to pull it off so well is another. I found Bullock's Oscar win for The Blind Side wrong, but she deserves all the praise for this performance. Clooney may not get a nomination but he did add a nice charming quality to a rather dreary film. Without him the film just wouldn't have been the same to me.
With a film of this nature we may often find our self finding flaws in the logic and this film won't be treated any differently. I am no expert on space exploration which gives me no credibility to nit pick the logic of a scene. Sure, female astronauts don't wear a tank top and short-shorts while inside their space suits. They probably wear a diaper, and when shit hit the fan Ryan Stone probably needed one; but this is Hollywood people, nobody wants to see Sandra Bullock in depends. Maybe In an extended edition we will see that Stone packed the wrong clothes before launch and was left with only her nighty nights. While Matt Kowalski ate some bad dehydrated mac n cheese and made use of all the depends onboard. I think that would suffice the audience who complained about the outfit of our leading lady. Yes, certain events are unlikely to happen in real life because the people who places the satellites in orbit do really complicated math to prevent problems from occurring. I get how logic can cross your mind throughout a film, but honestly who cares. I shouldn't care, and neither should you. The movie is jaw dropping cinema at it's highest form, if you don't allow any suspension of belief than this genre should be avoided at all cost. Even with some scientific flaws that I can't even point out (I am just sure there is probably some) Gravity is a masterpiece. Easily, the best movie I have seen all year and the best space movie I have ever seen. To be fair I haven't seen 2001: A Space Odyssey, but I've never been a Kubrick guy. Unlike 2001 (so I've heard), Gravity is accessible for anyone due to its short run time and extraordinary visuals. It just so happens to have enough emotional depth and engaging dialogue to allow the characters to drive the story into the tense set pieces.
Do whatever you have to do to see this movie in Imax 3D. It truly is an experience that should be seen in the best form possible. To further the quality of science fiction films, let's all wish that Gravity is extremely successful during its theatrical run and come Oscar season.
Verdict: 5 out of 5
Update: I did my research and it seems that there was no spinning involved in the actors performances. They created something they called "The Cage" which as I understand it is a box with LED lights on it. Using the lights going on and off they could simulate the look of someone spinning as a device with a camera on it spins around the actor and in random locations to give what you see on screen. Extremely intricate and awesome work by the makers of the film. I am sure there is a better way to describe it, but I would have to see the contraption in work to explain.
