2014 BAFTA Best Cinematography
2014 BAFTA Best Visual Effects
2014 Oscar Best Cinematography
I saw 'Gravity' twice in 3D at the cinema, the second time on an evening out with friends. Frankly, having seen it once, seeing it a second time wasn't my choice.
Now here I am at home watching it for a third time, in 2D on a modest 40" screen and from a DVD copy rather than the higher resolution of Blu-ray. And my opinion hasn't changed.
'Gravity' has spectacular CGI special effects. I can only begin to imagine the huge amount of compute time required to generate the film. Seen on a big screen, the film is visually spectacular and the 3D effects do add something - unlike other films I've seen in 3D.
So, spectacular graphics - but everything else is awful. The physics is silly, the spaceflight sequences look good but are unrealistic, the script is truly dreadful, and the so-called 'acting' by big ticket names George Clooney and Sandra Bullock is embarrassing.
It's won 7 Oscars. That is impressive - but then other than Best Director you realise they're for cinematography, visual effects etc - with nothing for script, acting etc.
See it on the largest screen you can (IMAX 3D if poss) but as a home small-screen experience it's well below average. See it out of curiosity - and unlike for example '2001: A Space Odyssey' I predict that it won't be in anyone's list of the best space / sci-fi films in 45 years time.
No, I didn't like it. I'll give it 1/5 stars then add another one for the excellent visuals, making 2/5 stars.
But otherwise average!
As a viewer I was never immersed in the film due to the lacklustre acting and disappointing script.
Overall conceit held it together though so worth a watch.
We did watch it to the end, but by the time we got to the end we wished we'd done something else with our time. Totally boring.
It’s been seven years since Alfonso Cuaron’s last feature film, the dank and grimy Children of Men, a film that tested to what extent technical special effects could be used in a single shot as Clive Owen dodged explosions and gunfire through ruined streets of a dying world. Gravity removes itself entirely from this kind of material but it doesn’t stop trying to push the envelope in terms of special effects. While Gravity uses much more CGI, it’s the way its used and the story it helps tell that really stand out.
Gravity follows Dr Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) on her first mission into space. However when things go drastically wrong she finds herself stranded in the void with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney). Tethered to each other and with limited oxygen, the two must find a way to survive and hopefully get back down to earth.
While a series of complex twists complicate their journey, Gravity is really a personal story about overcoming horrors. Bullock’s Dr Stone is a woman scared of her own shadow, full of fear and afraid of life. The film tests her character to no end as she reexamines her reasons for being on the mission in the first place, something that has brought her only more pain and suffering. Bullock makes Stone sympathetic and even a little heartbreaking as her justification for this mission comes to light.
Clooney’s Kowalsky on the other hand is a unrelenting optimist, a professional with a rebellious edge that serves him well. He lives to protect his crew but never loses sight of the mission as the two hurtle all over space on their search for rescue.
Unbelievably real with nary a bad shot in the entire film, Gravity is a seamless marvel of physical performances and beautiful computer graphics that have been melded together to make a tale anyone can relate to in some way while still having the added bonus of being completely out of this world.