Visuals Are Spectacular But The Plot/Characters Are Just...Okay

Rating: 5/10 (5 March 2017)

Heading into the theater to see this movie, I thought that it was going to be a great experience. I had heard high praise from friends, it fits neatly into my favorite genre of movies (science fiction/drama), and it just looked like a really, really cool concept. Unfortunately, I left the theater feeling ambivalent.
For a basic plot summary, "Gravity" tells the story of two astronauts who are stranded in space after a freak satellite accident pummels their shuttle and sends them both adrift. Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) is the cool, cocky, non-stop energy personality, while Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is the nervous, scared, out-of-her-element type. They must somehow find a way to survive in the vacuum of space while planning a return journey to Earth.
I will say this about "Gravity": the visuals are absolutely astonishing. It really makes you feel as if you are in space with the two astronauts. I didn't even see it in IMAX, but I can imagine that would be even a more visceral experience.
The trouble for me, however, is that I felt that the plot/characters were never really developed enough to truly care when it all starts to come together in the end. It almost seemed as if director Alfonso Cuaron tried to tackle too many things at once and didn't really "nail" any of them. There were shades of horror, suspense, drama, reality, and even humor sprinkled into the experience, but in the end I just didn't feel the emotion that is needed for such a character- driven film like this one to be considered great.
Thus, aside from the spectacular visuals, I was disappointed with "Gravity". It isn't a "bad" movie, per se, so three stars are in order, but 2.5 would be my more exact ranking. It just never sucked me into the plot or characters.