Strip away the 3D effects and what do you have left? Not very much I'm afraid

Rating: 3/10 (14 April 2016)

When I was a kid growing up, I was a great lover of science fiction. I would devour stories by the likes of Arthur C Clarke, John Wyndham and H G Wells and as a kid, before I had any television in my home, I became entranced with radio Sci-Fi programmes, such as 'Journey into Space' and 'The Kraken Wakes'.
In my teens I became a fan of early TV Sci-Fi, such as Dr Who, (of course), The Twilight Zone, and how can I ever forget Star Trek with the indomitable William Shatner.
By today's standards, many of these programmes were pretty corny – particularly with regard to the special effects – but I loved them, and the stories just caught my imagination.
For many years as a young, budding author, I dreamed that my first great novel would be in the science fiction genre.
I suppose the last science fiction production to take me in, hook line and sinker, was the wonderful, '2001 – A space odyssey' which I went to see in London with a friend when I was about 23 years old.
Sometime after that – I can't say exactly when or why – I fell out of love with science fiction. Every film or TV programme or book seemed to be yet another 'variation on a theme' and for some reason, I could no longer suspend credibility and become immersed in the fantasy.
It was all too boring and frankly - corny; despite the millions spent on special effects and prosthetics that were supposed to transform humans into credible aliens.
I will probably upset many of my readers by including such acclaimed masterpieces as 'Star Wars' in my boring, corny category. These wide screen extravaganzas that cost obscene amounts of money to make, and have attracted hundreds of millions of viewers throughout the world, leave me cold. I actually fell asleep through one of the Star War epics, when I was dragged to see it by my family. It was all too silly and superficial for me.
So in a long, very roundabout way, this brings me to Gravity, which is hardly science fiction at all, as most of what takes place is almost within the bounds of present day feasibility.
But it's as close to Sci-Fi as makes no difference, (IMDb classify it as Sci-Fi), so I confess that I was probably already predisposed to dislike it before I pressed the 'start' button.
There is no question that the film relies heavily on its special effects to woo the audience; so if you, like me, watch it without the benefit of 3D, then I'm afraid you may be in for a tiresome 90 minutes.
I am told that the 3D effects are incredible, and I don't doubt it, but strip them away and what do you have left? Not very much I'm afraid. I think I would rather watch a present day Doctor Who episode than this 'Gravity' tosh , and I haven't seen many of those in recent years as the 'bore factor' kicks in.
The Gravity story is simple. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are on a space-walk around the Hubble telescope, way out in space. The 'brilliant' Sandra is in the process of trying to fix a faulty part on Hubble when all hell breaks loose. They are showered in debris which was the result of some Russian missile doing something it wasn't supposed to do, and are they cast adrift and lose contact with mission control back on earth. Their own space ship is disabled and the remaining personnel are all killed. The remainder of story is about their attempts to get back to Earth by trying to propel themselves to alternative space crafts, (Russian and Chinese), that are floating around the firmament in various stages of disrepair. It is unclear what happened to the inhabitants of these craft.
There is little or no character development and I was unimpressed with George Clooney's 'cardboard hero' persona and his distinctly unfunny, homespun dialogue. Bullock lurches from crisis to crisis, telling us along the way about her dead daughter, (which is supposed to make us feel even more sorry for her) and screaming and sighing at appropriate moments when it seems all is lost. To be honest, you don't particularly care whether either of them make it back or not and you certainly shed no tears. While many may enjoy this spectacle on the big screen in all its 3D glory, if it is stripped of that major selling point, the dialogue, acting, and even the music rarely rise above the mediocre.
What astonishes me about this movie is that yet again, the professional critics are raving about it, and it picked up a whole gamut of BAFTA awards including best British film, best Director and best music, and an amazing 7 Oscars, including best director, best cinematography and best music. Call me a cynic, but is this the George Clooney/Sandra Bullock/ 'establishment' connection.?
Just in case you think I am alone in thinking that Gravity is just a piece of mediocre dross, let's see what the good folks on IMDb have been saying:
"Stop advertising this as a good movie! I just don't understand why this score and all the good reviews over the net are all about This movie has no story development, no character development and the script sucks"
Gravity is Weightless. Did those who've written glowing reviews of Gravity see the same movie I did?
Honestly, they go on and on.
Just what is it with these professional film reviewers and us amateur dummies? Just who is it that knows a good movie when they see one?