Gravity Pulls You In

Rating: 7/10 (23 December 2013)

This movie is surprisingly good even with its flaws. I didn't know what to expect before seeing it but was pleasantly surprised by some aspects of it,
The premise is that a group of astronauts is hit by by debris from a Russian satellite which the Russians accidentally blew up, and their shuttle is destroyed and most of the crew is killed. The two survivors played by George Clooney and Sandra Bullock now have to make their way to the International Space Station and further without any help or communications as most of the communication satellites were destroyed. Dr. Ryan Stone played by Bullock is running out of air and Matt Kowalski played by Clooney is running out of fuel for his space suit's thrusters. I don't want to give too much away but obviously things happen which make the rest of the movie very suspenseful.
The good parts of this movie are firstly the way it was filmed. The scenery is fantastic and at times I started feeling queasy when the astronauts were spinning. At times you feel like you are there. The view of Space & Earth is amazing. The movie is extremely suspenseful and obviously the two actors were great as was to be expected. Although to be honest, Clooney is basically playing himself in a space suit.
What I didn't particularly like is the fact is that Dr Stone is made out to be a novice and has almost no experience in space or operating and landing shuttles. It is even mentioned that she failed in the landing simulations. The situation that she finds herself in would be difficult enough for even the most seasoned astronaut to deal with, let alone someone who has no experience. The movie would have been better and more believable if she was a seasoned astronaut who didn't go through anxiety attacks or pick buttons by random in the landing vehicle whilst going Enny, Menny, Minney Moe. The fact that she seems to operate a Russian and then a Chinese landing craft with ease also wasn't believable. There was also no need to have her howling and going woof woof at one point. This was used to show her mental strain and what she was going through but it wasn't effective, just plain weird.
Another thing I didn't like is that everything starts when the Russians accidentally blow up their own Satellite thereby starting the chain reaction causing debris that destroys all the communications and stations in its path. I think that Hollywood should move away from the stereotype that Russians are all inept alcoholics or mad and wacky and cause accidents. The movie would have been more serious (and could be taken more seriously) if a natural occurrence was to blame or an equipment malfunction. Not oooops, the Russians did it.
I didn't have a problem with the dialog between Kowalski And Dr. Stone even though some reviews have pointed out that it seemed inane, silly and irrelevant at times. I think the purpose of Kowalski keeping the conversation light and pointless at times was to get Dr. Stone to calm down as much as possible whilst they were floating in space given the fact that she was exhausting her already almost-depleted oxygen supply. Also it's one of the rare moments where some character development can occur. And there is very little character development to begin with.
Overall I wouldn't rate this less then a seven given the suspense and the way it was filmed. The action sequences were thrilling and well made. It's a shame that the flaws prevent it from being a fantastic movie. It's still good though and worth watching.