Must Be Seen As Intended

Rating: Null/10 (22 January 2014)

I had missed this on initial release but due to the Oscar nomination, my local cinema gave it an extra week of a 3D run. I had heard and read so much that this film is the one made for 3D. up until now I had avoided 3D and had only seen the Doctor Who 'The Day of the Doctor' at the cinema in that format.
The film very much goes straight into the story with a scene that is a continuous 13 minute take. Straight off the bat the 3D effects are startling and I have to agree, from the offset, I have to agree that this is a film you must see that format. Sadly I am imagine that seeing this on DVD in the future, in 2D, will lose so much. In fact the effects in this are simply astounding, groundbreaking and totally breathtaking. The depth of the dimension is a joy to behold.
This is a 90 minute film and you would wonder how the story would stretch over that time. Trust me, it does. It is pretty much a disaster movie from start till end. The only criticism is that there really is no character development. All we really know of Dr Ryan Stone is the brief mentions of what happened to her daughter. Having said that, the story and imagery are the principal factor here, not the character. For that reason the film would not be a 10/10 for me.
I must agree with a fellow reviewer who mentions Lumiere's 'Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat' (1895). This film is groundbreaking. Even rare cinema goers are understanding the need to have seen this as it is intended. Some of the audience I talked to prior to showing were attending there very first modern 3D film. I hope that it is looked back upon in the future up there with the likes of 2001 and others.
Sandra Bullock excels. She is in practically every scene. George Clooney is surprisingly annoying and I didn't warm to him at all. There are not many films where the cast list is so low and that is one of the pluses of the film. It feels like the whole 90 minutes is one take, of course that is impossible but that is how seamless this film is! Interestingly I found Stone's attempt to contact someone for help a but unsettling as is was very weird. The person she is contacting, obviously has no idea what the hell is going on and who she is. Sadly within the film we only see her side of the conversation. However, on researching after the film, a short 6 minute film shows the conversation from the other point of view where you see the Greenlandic Inuit fisherman who intercepts Stone's transmission. Aningaaq as he is called is a self-titled short written and directed by Gravity co-writer Jonás Cuarón. I will reviewing that on here at some point in the near future.
There are many hints towards rebirth in this film. Also, the end of the film is a metaphor for the evolution of the human, progressing out of the amniotic fluid to being on all fours, then stood but curved and finally stood erect. In fact you can also say that the beginning of the film depicts the pinnacle of human achievement and end with the dawn of mankind.
I am so glad I saw this as intended and I urge anyone who can catch it in cinemas before it is too late, to see it in all its glory.