Gravity Review

How hard would you fight to keep breathing?

From visionary director Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men), comes this intense space drama starring Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, and literally no one else. The film follows a medical engineer and an astronaut who work together in order to survive after an accident leaves them adrift in space. They lose contact with their home base, they begin running low on Oxygen, and dangerous debris from a broken shuttle is rapidly descending towards the two. Tethered to nothing but each other, the two begin there voyage to a Chinese shuttle, the only way to survive. The premise is pretty straightforward, the execution, however, is one of the greatest cinematic achievements of all time. I, and no one else, can stress the amount of intensity this film delivers. I've said before that I have only experienced a movie bringing me to the edge of my seat twice, one with the Argo and then Rush. Gravity failed to bring me to the edge of my seat, it tore me off the edge. I can not stress this enough, watch this movie in IMAX 3D. Personally, I hate 3D. I like the concept of feeling like I'm in the movie, but frankly all 3D has done was distract me and take a few extra dollars out of my pocket. If you are ever going to watch a movie in 3D, make it Gravity. You really feel like you are in space, as ridiculous as that may sound, and that feeling of actually being there is also achieved through the spectacular special effects. I'm one of those people who didn't like Avatar; frankly, if I wanted to watch a 2 1/2 hour video game...no, I would never want to watch a 2 1/2 hour video game. The Visual Effects in Gravity didn't make me feel like I was in a video game, like I said before, I actually felt like I was in space. The pacing is also one of the highlights of this visual masterpiece. The first 10-15 minutes or so is one shot, which is amazing. The thought of a shot that long may seem boring, but the effects this movie delivers makes the 10 minute shot one of the most fascinating shots in movie history. But once there are cuts and the debris begins hitting the shuttle, the amount of suspense is immeasurable. Of course, even with all of these great special effects, the movie wouldn't be the same without the mesmerizing powerhouse performance Sandra Bullock delivers. I'll be honest here, Ryan Stone isn't the most developed, complex movie character. We don't delve very deep into her background, all we know is that her daughter past away. Even though we don't really know Stone, for some reason you root for her more than any other character in any other movie. You want her to survive this, she is so strong and keeps fighting even though she doesn't know what she's fight for. She has such heart and such strength that seeing her in these certain-death situations makes your heart pound like never before.  Overall: Gravity is quite honestly one of the most mesmerizing cinematic achievements ever. Star Sandra Bullock delivers a great, powerful, sympathetic performance as Ryan Stone. Even though the character is not as lifelike as the visual effects, you still find yourself rooting for her to survive. Final Rating- A-