Movie Review: "Gravity" (2013)

Movie: "Gravity"
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Medical engineer Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and veteran astronaut Mike Kowalski (George Clooney) are the two remaining survivors of a shuttle crew sent to service and install new technology on the Hubble telescope. Their shuttle was destroyed after a Russian anti-satellite test gone bad, causing a negative chain reaction, sending shrapnel of space debris everywhere. Trapped floating in the dead of space without their ride, they must find a way to get back to earth, or die trying.

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Visually, this movie is magnificent. It really is a technical achievement as far as film making goes, and we would not be surprised to see it garnering several technical nods in the upcoming award season. We may have lost a little bit of its awesomeness by not seeing it in 3D, but oh well. Even in 2D, we felt transported to the depths of space, as if we were floating alongside Bullock and Clooney, clinging to our lives by, literally, a thread. Brilliant directing and cinematography work here.

As far as the story goes, while it isn't a remake or a sequel, it is original, but there's not much there. Two people stranded in space trying to survive is a very generic plot. If something goes wrong in space, and you survive, obviously you're trying to stay alive and try and return to Earth safely. This is just one of those movies where everything that can go wrong DOES go wrong. There's a lot of bad that happens to these two astronauts, but a lot of good luck happens, too. It's one situation after another of malfunctions and things going haywire and the characters having to overcome them.

That being said, it was really good and far exceeded our expectations. From the first trailer for this movie, we expected something much different. You won't be bored watching this movie: it is extremely well-paced and action-packed. I even found myself gasping here and there at certain parts throughout the movie. There is a lot of tension to go along with the action, and it's definitely a movie to watch on the big screen.

My Rating: 7.5/10
BigJ's Rating: 7.5/10
IMDB's Rating: 8.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 97%
Do we recommend this movie: Sure, why not?