I finally got round to watching Gravity a few weeks after it was first released, and from reading a number of positive reviews from a variety of film critics I was eager to see what all the fuss was about.

 The first thing I noticed were of course the incredible visuals, made even more spectacular in 3D. They did a great job of creating an uneasy silence in the vast darkness of space, separating the two main protagonists, Ryan Stone (Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (Clooney) from the noisy planet earth below.

 It is unfortunate that despite these ground breaking visual effects I was a little underwhelmed by its B-movie story arc. Some cheesy clichéd dialogue and weak character development really stunted the film for me in the final third; in particular the character of Dr. Stone seemed rather careless and pathetic in certain dramatic set pieces, made even more apparent when on screen next to the much more likable and level headed Lt. Kowalski.

Dr. Stone trying to get home - Picture from indiewire.com

With an ending that seemed fairly anti-climatic, I have to conclude that I was disappointed a little with the film as a whole.Perhaps it could be from the big hype circulating on its initial release,  (or the extortionate admission ticket), but for me personally, the story has to be come before everything else, and on this occasion, it clearly didn’t.

 

My rating:     6.0