"Gravity" is a simply breathtaking film, and is hands down the best movie of 2013...

Rating: 10/10 (27 January 2014)

"Gravity" first came onto my radar about halfway through 2012, on one of those lists of films to look forward to later that year. The film's release was delayed quite a bit, but more information kept coming through in early 2013. In January, I declared, somewhat ambitiously, that it would be the best film to be released in 2013. After I watched the mind-boggling "Children of Men" for the first time in April last year, I was certain that I would love this as well. I built it up so much, told everyone that it was going to be amazing, and then in the few minutes before it started, I panicked. What if I'd over-hyped it and ended up underwhelmed? The lights went down, and within minutes of the start of the film, I knew I'd been right. "Gravity" is a simply breathtaking film, and is hands down the best movie of 2013.
Let's start with the plot. I won't say too much about it, for once, because I managed to go into this knowing almost nothing except the basics, and it made it even more magical for me. The film follows Dr Ryan Stone (Bullock), a teacher and astronaut, on her first mission in space. She is on the last spacewalk of her mission with Matt Kowalski (Clooney), when the Hubble Space Telescope is hit by space debris, and they are separated, with Stone floating through space. Over the course of a mesmerising and thrilling 90 minutes, Stone and Kowalski attempt to get safely back to earth. The plot, however, is not the film's most important part. The two characters are interesting, and their dialogue and character developments manage to be funny and moving at times. Clooney does a great job as the experienced astronaut, while Bullock is simply outstanding, bringing across the fear and emotion of her character so well. For Stone, the journey is not just one about getting back to Earth, but it's also a rebirth for her, getting over the loss of her daughter, and Bullock makes you feel the pain that she does.
The film's main attraction is undoubtedly the visuals – It's like nothing I've ever seen before. The CGI of space is flawless and beautiful, and especially in 3D (it's one of the 3 films I've ever seen where 3D is worth it) you actually do feel like you're stuck out there with them. Cuaron's direction is completely evident, with his love of long takes coming through here. The first shot of the movie is around 17 minutes, and the constant panning of the camera to show you the action and vastness of space is not at all irritating, as you would expect. The film has everything, interesting characters, a good action plot, and fantastic visuals, and will keep you white-knuckle for the entirety of its running time. I have no doubt that this is one of the most original and stunning films I've seen released in recent years, and cannot wait for Cuaron's next effort.