A Team Effort That Must Be Seen in Theaters

Rating: 9/10 (21 October 2013)

One thing that has been missing in these big blockbuster films in this day and age is the ability to have a solid story and merge it with A- List talent and extraordinary technology (Enter multiple blockbusters here). This wasn't the case for Alfonso Cuaron and despite the years spent in production hell, the payoff was extraordinary. Using his ability to make long takes work in his favor (Children of Men for those who haven't seen it) he makes what could have been a disaster and turned it into cinema gold that doesn't make you feel stupid for spending money on it. Along with Cuaron's incredible directing abilities, there was the extraordinary acting of Sandra Bullock and a briefly seen yet meaningful George Clooney.
As A-Lister's should, they carry the film in ways very few people can and I'm no Hollywood insider, but I can imagine that the films $100 million budget was significantly inflated hiring those two and it was worth it. As Dr. Stone, Bullock performs with her usual excellent acting and because of it, we all relate to her in this film. Someone who has to fight to survive in an environment that you never truly prepare for (Disaster), granted her character is in a situation only few can honestly understand but she represents more than those people. Her character, one can argue, represents the everyday person who has to do whatever they can so they can get home,it's someone who has to deal with work B.S. or someone who deals with issue after issue when all they want to do is complete their day. Dr. Stone is someone you can relate to and that's to the credit of Cuaron and Bullock in making that happen which comes to the biggest thing in films and in life in general (I'll explain that later). Then there's the graphics.
The graphics of this film is to say the least incredible and because of it, makes it one of the very few films that actually deserved the 3-D treatment. The best way to describe it would be to compare it to watching an IMAX documentary about space that's in 3-D it's that realistic. It's one of those Avatar type films that you have to see in theaters in order to truly enjoy the film. The details that were taken into account to make this movie as real as possible really is the deal breaker because if it wasn't considered, the film would be at best average which comes to the only flaw in the film, the script itself.
The story itself is not really anything to ride home about as it can be considered predictable and there are a few things you wish were avoided, but it still doesn't take away from the film itself (Much like Avatar). Then there are the theoretical life lessons this movie brings by having you be a part of Dr. Stone's journey and yes, it's Dr. Stone's journey not Clooney's (even though his performance should not be discounted as he did a hell of a job). All of these things lead to the film that is Gravity which brings this review to a full circle.
When you make a film, it has to be a team effort, if not it's going to a disaster of epic proportions. You can scrap a script together put a couple A-List actors in it and let the rest of it go (Battleship is an example granted only Liam Neeson is A-List but that's not the point). But if you want to really make it work, you have to have a quality director, quality script and quality actors if you want to make it work. That's exactly what happens here and because of it, we're now given a film that could be a strong Oscar contender despite being a film that is usually anything but and that's to the credit of Cuaron, Bullock, Clooney and everyone who made it happen.