Spiralling into a vacuous void

Rating: 1/10 (16 October 2013)

'Gravity' begins with an extravagant visual flourish - a shuttle crew is servicing the Hubble telescope while planet Earth revolves majestically several hundred miles beneath them. As they work, news of a satellite collision arrives from mission control. The distant incident quickly turns into a dire emergency when a cloud of lethal debris zeroes in upon the astronauts. Mayhem ensues - and within seconds the shuttle vehicle is transformed into a destroyed and useless hulk.
When the dust has cleared, two space-suited astronauts find themselves alone and adrift in the immensity of space. In the real world there would be zero chance of survival - so the film is festooned with ludicrous science as it transforms itself into a juvenile comic book adventure. The cornball script confines the one-dimensional characters to lame banter and maudlin sentimentality as a series of implausible cliffhanger exploits play out against the backdrop of spectacular special effects. Despite its box-office success, 'Gravity' is just another featherweight tale from Hollywood, 'full of sound and fury, signifying nothing'.