Gravity ~ Film Review

by: Uel Ceballos

I love the Gravity film because it granted me the experience of the outer space. I’ve long fancied to be an astronaut and this film had somehow brought my fantasy into its closest reality. Gravity’s execution was breathtaking. It will take you to the world you hardly ever knew (unless you’re a major in Science, you’re an astronaut yourself or something that is related on it) – in the outer space where the greatness of our Creator is truly magnified. From the start to finish, you will never stop wondering on the outer space’s awesomeness despite its unfriendly nature on human. The VFX team had surely exerted lots of efforts and creative juices to make the setting appeared with seemingly undisputed authenticity.

The grandeur views on Gravity is the movie's main selling point as the fantastic depictions of the space stirs the curiosity of people with respect to what lies there beyond the celestial elements. The film was given the title “Gravity”, and 99.9% of the scenes happened in abyss wherein the gravity does not exist. You would see here how the astronauts move in the void as if they are swimming in the underwater. The space is enthralling and terrifying at the very same time. Like the vast desert or the deep ocean, the space’s mysteriousness is inviting yet the potential dangers that it can impose upon you is far superior and innumerable. Everything that you see in the film is seemingly genuine however, if you keep thinking about its digital creation and manipulation, you wouldn’t be able to benefit from the marvelous spectacles that Gravity has in store for your sight. Gravity is a great beauty to behold but it also presents a different kind of thrill that will make you hold your breath up to the end of the film.

Gravity is a sci-fi thriller film that is focused on Dr. Ryan Stone on her first shuttle space mission. While in the mission with the veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski and the rest of the team, a Russian missile hits on non-operational satellite which causes the reaction of high-speed debris coming over to their location. Space debris had hit the Space Shuttle Explorer where Dr. Ryan Stone and Matt Kowalski are and this is the start of the suspenseful series of events that will make you gasp for air. Not to exaggerate things but you will certainly share with Stone’s struggle here as she almost run out of oxygen while working on her way to survive the unforgiving outer space.

George Clooney’s character here has only a short time exposure but he has done it with the expected excellence. Though clad in heavy spacesuit with his face vaguely shown behind the helmet and only his voice justifying the character, he has still made the character likeable and charming in a remarkably Clooney-way. His charm still got its irresistible effect even on such a limited role. His role though short, is very significant to the entire movie as the story of Gravity wouldn’t be strong enough without that character of Kowalski in it.

Only that the entire film is focused on the space drama, putting only to second importance the life’s story of the two main characters. There is the effort though to establish it through the conversation of Stone and Kowalski, but it was very less that their emotional and psychological status wasn't fully developed. The psyche of the characters was not completely established through the story thus I couldn’t tell to what level of appropriateness had the characters justified their decisions and actions. Devoid maybe of the emotional elements with respect to the characters’ inner feeling but Gravity has indeed delivered an incomparable suspense space drama spectacle.

For this wondrous thrilling movie that made me hold my breath and gasped for air, I will rate it with 7 shots of Espresso!