Great special effects, skimpy script/story

Rating: 5/10 (22 May 2014)

I heard great things about this movie, but besides the outstanding special effects, the script was pretty cliché and cringeworthy, and there was very little character development. We are supposed to feel for Kowalski, yet the guy's a cartoon superhero with absolutely no background other than a love of country music (stolen from Apollo 13). Bullock's character is inconsistent--a scared babbling "citizen-astronaut" to an experienced-looking pilot who can read foreign manuals and navigate her way through foreign space stations like she's been there a hundred times.
In general, despite its special effects, and a few exciting scenes, an ultimately forgettable and clichéd film.