Movie Review: Gravity

The human stars of Gravity are Sandra Bullock and George Clooney; however the real star of the show is the special effects department.  It is hard to believe the action and effects are computer generated and the filming did not actually take place in space.  We watched it in 3D and for once the 3D effects actually enhanced the film.

While we hear the voices of mission control, there are really only two characters in the movie: Ryan Stone (Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (Clooney).  The story takes place almost entirely in space and the time frame is only a few hours.  Kowalski is leading his last space shuttle expedition and Stone is on her first.  While she is on a space walk, working on the Hubble telescope and Kowalski is clowning around with a jet pack, they get news that the Russians have purposefully destroyed one of their satellites and the debris is heading their way.

From this point on, all hell breaks loose.  The space shuttle is badly damaged by the debris.  Kowalski and Stone must defy the short odds and use their experience and training (and in Stone's case, lack thereof) to survive.  There is not much of a story / plot but the action sequences are terrific and as mentioned, the effects are first rate.  Both actors are tremendous and Bullock will probably get an Oscar nomination.

Overall it is not as good as Apollo 13 (1995) and it makes you realize how brilliant the effects were (for their time) in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

I rate Gravity an A-.