Gravity

Saw this for free in Kobe at a preview screening, so I've still never paid for a Sandra Bullock film. Well done me. She's alright in this, to be fair, and she needs to be, as it's pretty much a two-hander with Clooney as the other hand.

So where to start.....? Probably the visuals. They are suitably spectacular and they'll sweep the boards at the major awards ceremonies. The 3D was fine and didn't give me a headache (unlike The Hobbit) - I even flinched from the screen a couple of times. More impressive was the stillness, the lack of sound. Even when disaster was pitching up all around, we (and presumably the astronauts) don't realise it until we actually see the speeding metal debris. The lack of a whizzy, zoomy, bangy, boomy soundtrack is shocking and, I reckon, the standout point of the film.

Storywise, it's fairly basic and I'm reasonably impressed with the pared-down nature of the plot. Without spoiling too much, it's fundamentally - DISASTER! - GO THERE - BUGGER! OK GO THERE - END. It would have been tempting to overblow the whole narrative and another director may have done so, but not a steady hand like Cuaron. Ninety minutes or so for an epic technical feat like this must have taken great restraint or.......

......it's quite possible that the budget was spunked on the Framestore people (responsible for the visual effects) and they scrimped a little on the writing. That's where the film lets itself down slightly for me. Some of the ideas are pretty old hat; Clooney is the experienced old veteran ready to retire, Bullock is the new recruit, not really up to speed with things, later having a kind of epiphany with a random stranger. Some of the dialogue is quite corny, especially Clooney telling stories of his past to anyone who will listen. And the central 'message' is a bit hackneyed with a slight whiff of religion in the air.

So maybe I was expecting too much because although I was gobsmacked by the technical aspect of it, I wasn't that moved. It is a pretty immense effort though and I'd recommend seeing it, if only for the spectacle of the opening sequence.

Oh, and Bullock falls over again. Damn you, Gravity!