You'll feel like you're in space with them

Rating: 9/10 (22 November 2013)

I finally got around to seeing Gravity, and it was one epic experience that certainly lived up to the hype. Sandra Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone (yes, she's a chick with a guy's name), a medical engineer on her first mission in outer space, accompanied by George Clooney's Matt Kowalsky, a veteran astronaut who's on the brink of retirement. Everything seems to be going smoothly until an accident involving space debris destroys their shuttle, leaving the two of them floating aimlessly in space, where no one can hear them and no one can find them. All they have is each other as they try to make it out of their terrifying predicament alive. Just imagining being in that situation is freaking me out right now as I'm writing this.
When I first saw the trailer, I thought the idea seemed original and it looked like it could be entertaining, but I wondered how much of a plot and how much character development could occur in a movie that seemed to be merely about two people stranded in space. It turns out that my skepticism was unjustified, as it offered more than just an amazing visual experience. The plot may be basic, but it's laid out extremely well. The two main characters, especially Ryan Stone, have interesting enough back stories to keep the audience interested and focused on more than just how tremendous everything looked.
Sandra Bullock gave an excellent performance. It's hard to believe that 20 years ago, she was driving a bus with Keanu Reeves breathing down her neck. She may even get a second Oscar nomination and stick the middle finger up to anyone who said her 2010 win for The Blind Side was an undeserved fluke. George Clooney did what he did best: he acted like George Clooney.
I have never truly felt like I was there when watching a movie until I saw this one. I imagine that this is the closest anyone could get to experiencing what it's like to be in space without actually being there. Everything looked so real, it was unreal. This is the first time I can say that seeing a film in 3D was worth the extra admission price. It would've been even more awesome to see it in IMAX, but I waited until over a month after its release, like a dumbass, so it had already been yanked out of IMAX theaters. The 3D alone was awesome nevertheless, and I can't even imagine seeing it in 2D.
By grossing over $500 million worldwide, Gravity has deservingly become one of the biggest films of the year, and looks to be a serious contender once awards season rolls around. If you haven't yet, I highly recommend checking it out in theaters while you still can.