A Visual Feast and An Insult to Real Astronauts

Rating: 6/10 (28 April 2014)

What this movie is really trying to say...
Sandra Bullock is very fit for her age. George Clooney is so cool in a spacesuit. We deserve to win awards because we care about realism in this science fiction. We did this and that research and training with real space professionals etc.
What this movie ended up saying...
Hollywood has its own idea of scientific realism. George Cloony looks old even in a cool spacesuit.
Oh, and, there's crazy amount of space junk up there - which will one day come back to bite all of us down here. All it takes is a meteor, or an X-flare, and a chain reaction. When that happens all a space technician could do?
Panting and spinning uncontrollably in space.
The disasters on the ground produced by this kind of massive space junk apocalypse event will likely kill more people on the ground. Yet we are to focus on one very important haplessly spinning space-walker who could barely save her own very fit physique.
Panting uncontrollably - every step of the way and even after being repeatedly told to calm down and to conserve energy - consumes already dwindling oxygen supply, and shows how untrained, ill-disciplined and unprofessional the astronaut is (and how lazy the writer/ director/ actors are)
Lead character is apparently a certified emotionally-unstable and technically-mediocre, panicky, random-button-pushing astronaut. Still given the job. What an insult to real astronauts.
At least 40-something Bullock tried her best to look 35 and succeeded. 100% silver hair and nonathletic Clooney looks completely his post-menopausal age, and by any account should not be in a spacesuit, nor strutting about some expensive space station low on insulin supply. Another insult to real younger, taller, fitter than athletes astronauts.
Which brings us to another possibly unintended effect...
China looks like the real space master. Not sure if that's already true in reality. But unlike this "realistic" Bullock astronaut, Chinese astronauts would likely read Russian buttons, or at least breathe calmly, and take more calculated risk when in doubt. China certainly won't send a charming but aging male out there and risk their billion dollar investments.
And the plot...
What plot? There is no plot to give away. Just lots of spinning above glorious earth, hyper-diligent space station cockpit shots, panic damsel panting audio, and Bullock's super fit body parts on display.
Scientifically, 'Gravity' is one of the worst "insult to real professionals" offender of this decade, especially given the stellar budget and the "we care about realism" hype. Just admit it is a blatant Bullock star vehicle and stop elevating it to some hard science fiction pedestal.
And because it is more about "making Bullock like-able", it became less about character realism. Apparently female astronaut still needs to pant in damsel in distress style to elicit audience sympathy and to seek daddy figure reassurance just so that she could function coherently. A weak-minded, vulnerable, unfocused female leading character is not my idea of female hero, but designed to be appealing to the Bullock fan crowd. Another annoyance throughout this film for me.
Still, even with all of the above, the movie managed to entertain me due to one single factor: the setting. I just happen to like geographic or space documentary. The movie should be called "Above Earth".
Aiming straight at Bullock and Clooney fan club. Watchable for non-science buffs. Will likely annoy hard science fiction fans.