FIrst Viewing: Gravity (Perfect Hollywood Thriller)

Rating: 9/10 (27 March 2014)

Gravity isn't perfect, but you really shouldn't expect it to be. Despite all of the hype it's gotten, especially with its Oscar wins, Gravity never really feels like it's trying to be anything other than a suspenseful Hollywood thriller, which works wonderfully in it's favor. As a thrill ride, it might damn well be perfect. And that's why it's great. It's just a classic fight for survival story, with the added bonus of great special effects. The characters are archetypes, the destruction scenes are unrealistic (Not that I, or most viewers would know) and everything feels too easy for the main character, as she navigates through each set-piece without really that much of a struggle. Sandra Bullock isn't the weak link there at all, it's just how the film is written. You know she's going to make it, and despite it's all is lost tone, she absolutely does without much that much going wrong for her. George Clooney is nothing exceptional here, as unlike Bullock you never get any real since of fear or loss. He simply does George Clooney things and leaves midway through in an obligatory self-sacrifice scene, which admittedly is excellent. Most of that excellence is due to Sandra Bullock, however, who I definitely don't want to overlook. She is fantastic, giving a performance that's raw and emotional in ways she's mostly never shown before. Her performance here is far better and more Oscar worthy than anything in The Blind Side, and far better than Clooney. Don't let anyone fool you, this is entirely her movie. Despite my earlier comments regarding a lack of real danger, she delivers the kind of performance that makes you believe. Her delivery of the films best dialogue, in which she makes a firm statement to herself that she knows she's going to die, is absolutely heartbreaking. When Clooney disappears, you don't miss him as much as feel how much she does, and that's a great thing to see. The other standouts are of course, the special effects, which are of course as amazing as everyone else has already told you. Really, this is the kind of movie you should watch in a theater. It seems like they say that about everything nowadays, but here it is absolutely true. Because this is what a Hollywood movie should absolutely be. Scary, thought-provoking, heartfelt and beautiful, but never in a way that you can fault it for. It never tries too hard to be those things, it just is, and it ends up a movie you can simply enjoy, once you dig your fingers out of the armrests of your chairs and realize that it's just a movie. Just like it should be.