Gravity Review

Grab on!

Gravity Review – In Space Nobody Can Hear You Scream (I know that’s the tagline for the movie Alien, most prolly one of the best movie ‘made in space’) but this Mexican (Alfonso Cuaron) directed picture comes close, very close. With just two main characters, Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock and Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) it managed to keep me glued to the big screen for one and half hour. I should have watched it 3D because the special effect was ‘out of this world’-pun intended, not as good as ‘Avatar’ but still good enough to burn extra bucks to get the real feel. The story literally begins in space overlooking our ‘Blue Planet’. Dr. Ryan had to do some ‘fixing’ when the data she supposed to send couldn’t reach ‘Houston’, while blink and you miss him; Shariff enjoys his voyage before his sudden demise. They were ‘driven’ there by experienced astronaut Matt who is on his ‘final’ trip to outer space. While busy repairing and almost done, the team gets hit by debris from the ‘shot down’ Russian satellite. Within few seconds a routine becomes a battle to stay alive. Both Ryan and Matt survives the ‘storm’ but that is just a beginning as they had to endure the vast milky way to make their way back to Earth in one piece. They had to utilize things they learned during their training and more.

Smile for the 'camera'!

It’s good to see Sandra back on the big screen and turning up a notch as serious uptight women who ‘hates space’ yet loves the ‘silence’ after enduring a tragedy of her own back in Earth. While, George was in his usual ‘Up In The Air’ movie chirpy mood trying to break the record for the ‘longest hour’ spent ‘walking’ on space. Both of them displayed certain level of chemistry with Matt annoying Ryan with his collection of ‘country songs’. After some time and surviving the ‘falling wreckage’ together, they begin to warm up to each other. Ryan starts to let loose of her grip and share her side of the story while Matt spills his beans from Mardi Grass to almost every single experience back on the world. Sandra looked good for a 50 year old whereas George seems to be aging like a fine wine. It was a winning combination of both talent and charm that makes this flick watchable in the between the turbulence. Makes no surprise since they are both Oscar winners for their previous work.

Up close and personal

 The ‘space’ scene was well crafted that you can ‘experience’ how it ‘feels’ if you are ‘stranded’ and ‘drifting upside down’ with nothing to grab on to. You will ‘try’ to reach for something to ‘hold’ on so you don’t end going further and further away from safety. The visual effect was so real even on normal screen and you might find yourself trying to dodge it from ‘hitting’ you. The silence of the dark surroundings followed by the chaos hit the right note appropriately. The movie might be short for a running time of less than 2 hours but almost every second was fully utilized and that you will leave the cinema considering if you want to be an astronaut or not! It might sound all cool and awesome but it is not a ‘walk-in-the-park (pun intended!)

Space Odyssey

Watch it in 3D or IMAX because I think it will be totally worth it. With so many movies out there from speeding cars to what not, it’s a nice change of view to ‘see’ Earth from the space. It’s also a good reminder to have faith and fight for your life. If you give up on yourself, not even God can save you but then, that’s just my opinion. If it’s not your ‘time’ yet…you can survive a catastrophic aftermath even if you are marooned thousands of miles away from the ground. All you got to have is some faith and belief.