Gravity (2013)

Gravity is a fast paced, action packed film about a woman who gets stranded in the deep, dark, depths of space. It is an incredibly fresh idea, that has never been explored by any other film (to my knowledge, at least). The main character, Ryan Stone (played by Sandra Bullock), was a interesting and likeable character, which was crucial for the film, as she is one of the very few actors actually in the film.

It is a fun film to watch: packed to the brim with action that starts about twenty minutes in and doesn't stop until the last few seconds. Ryan is given a great backstory that is only really hinted at, instead or rammed down our throats as many other films would do. We are left to fill in the blanks, which I'm a personal fan of. The film manages to be claustrophobic with the narrow corridors of the multiple space stations, yet daunting and endless with the vast and infinite possibilities of space. It makes for two very contrasting, yet equally terrifying tones. It's fun to watch, with very little thinking required. It would be a good film to have on in the background while working, as you could start watching at any point, and still understand what is going on.

On the other hand, as soon as you actually start thinking about the events that happen in the story, you start to realise that it's all just very convenient, and so much of it is reliant on luck. If you are just to look at it as a film and nothing more, then it's a great watch, however, if you get annoyed by lack of realism, maybe steer clear of Gravity, as it may frustrate you. Everything also just seems to happen one thing after another, non-stop, for the whole film: even when Ryan makes it back to earth, she still has to swim out of a lake(?) to avoid drowning. The woman can't catch a break! She's just been in space, for goodness sake, just let her have a moment of peace.

I would give this film a three if it was solely reliant on plot, however, I'm giving it four stars due to another two factors that I feel must be mentioned: the visuals, and the music. The film is amazing to look at, with the earth, moon, stars and those stunning scenes with the Northern Lights (I cannot get enough of that CGI in particular), you could take a frame from the film, edit out the characters, and pass it as a actual image from space: it's that good. The other factor I mentioned was the music. It is. by far, the best soundtrack I have listened to in a long, long time. They went with an orchestral soundtrack, for the most part (which I am so glad they did, I think the film would lose it's charm if it was all irrelevant pop songs). There are a few tracks with a choir in the background, but it only enhances the film, and it's not distracting. The orchestra can go from a fast-paced, blood pumping piece, to a calm, thoughtful one in a matter of seconds without feeling unnatural or disjointed. This is coming from someone who knows nothing about music.

Overall, I think Gravity is a decent and overall enjoyable film for the average movie-goer, with an amazing soundtrack and gorgeous CGI, however, I do feel that the convince and overall luck of certain situations bring the film down. I'm also glad that there is no word of a sequel: this is the kind of film that should be a stand-alone, and probably couldn't be redone.