Gravity (2013): 8/10 – Entertaining space survival film with its flaws
‘Gravity’ is a space sci-fi film about a team of astronauts sent to Earth orbit to repair the Hubble telescope. Lieutenant Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) is in command of the mission, and his crewmember, Dr Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), is the engineer working on the Hubble. While on a spacewalk, NASA headquarters in Houston find out the Russians have destroyed a spy satellite. The satellite began a cascading effect, expanding the amount of debris and placing them in danger. The journey takes off from there as Kowalski and Stone face the consequences, battling against time for survival.
Overall, I found the film decent and entertaining. The film kept me thinking and wondering where the story was headed. I liked the cinematography, stunning visuals, the CGI, and the fitting music for the moments. The Earth looked magnificent throughout the film and made you wish you could see it from space. The acting and chemistry between Clooney and Bullock were satisfactory. However, there wasn’t much content there from a characterization perspective, story depth, or witty dialogue. The sparse dialogue felt flat and with little substance (I think it worked out fine because of the plot). The science wasn’t perfect and could have been better (I mention some of it below). In 2014, it won 7 Oscars, including for cinematography, directing, film editing, original score, sound editing, sound mixing, and visual effects. I can’t say any of the Oscars in their respective categories are undeserved.
[SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH — SPOILERS]. I wasn’t a fan of the writer’s conveniences to get out of the ruts. At first, I found the premise of that much space debris from a single satellite explosion unrealistic. However, a cascading impact involving many satellites explained that away. Okay, fine, you got me! There was still one issue, though. How did the cascading effect happen that quickly with hundreds of satellites? I would expect it to happen over weeks or months, not in 90 minutes. Second, the Hubble telescope, the International Space Station, and the Chinese Space Station were all within close range, which is not happening in an area the size of Earth’s space. Third, why did the debris remain clustered, as if held together, each time it returned around the Earth? That is assuming it is in the same orbit (which seems unlikely). Fourth, how did sparks turn into a full-blown fire within a few minutes? [/end SPOILERS]
Would I recommend it? Yes, I think I can recommend this film. The plot felt fresh. Did the script have issues or things missing? 100%. Could they have done better with the script and the logical flaws? Yes. But despite that, it was still a fun film.
