I finally got around to watching "Gravity."
The Good:
Obviously, the special effects were excellent. Computer generated graphics have come a long way. Also, the zero-G effects were handled well, and had a realistic feel. So, effects good.
The story did what it was apparently designed to do; create 90 minutes of tension. I never felt that the movie was dragging, because it moved very quickly from one moment of peril to another.
The Bad:
It did tend to suffer from the "we built it, now let's destroy it" attitude that permeates action movies today. Someone does need to explain to Hollywood that, when one metal object hits another, there tends to be denting, smashing, crushing and snapping. The objects don't break into millions of tiny pieces, like a wood framed house in a nuclear blast. There were some really unbelievable moments, involving speeds, logistics, and just basic "how spacecraft work" type things.
There were only two "real" characters in the movie, which would usually mean that there would be tons of time for character development. But, no, not really. The mission commander (George Clooney) is a competent, brave leader who listens to country music, and loves to tell stories. The mission specialist (Sandra Bullock) is brilliant, but reserved and has a tragic backstory. You never feel that you know the characters well. In fact, in some ways Bullock's character felt more like an video game avatar, with little personality of her own. You pretty much see and feel what she sees, with very few scenes where she shows her own real feelings about the events unfolding around her. You kind of come away with the impression that you are supposed to imagine how you would feel in these situations, not that it was a vehicle for her to display her emotions to you.
The Final Analysis:
There are many well tread themes in the movie (but citing them might be spoilerish). In the end, I never really felt a connection to the main character (Bullock). There was never the moment where I really cheered for her to get through a tough situation. It's hard to care when you don't know enough about the character to really understand what is motivating them to survive, aside from the normal human instinct to do so. In the end, I found myself more interested what would happen in the next few hours than what had happened in those preceding. Then the screen went to black.
Strangely though, I give it 3 1/2 stars out of 5. Visually, it the best space movie I've seen. There are some spacewalk scenes when they are in the shadow of the Earth, when you can see the lights below, that are absolutely beautiful. The daylight side looked pretty darn good too.
Topic: What was the last movie you watched? (Read 1757558 times)
